Enhancing Pheasant Hunting with Effective Habitat Management

Drew Larsen knows a thing or two about pheasant hunting – the calls and cackles, the flush, the sweeping prairie lands that beckon hunters and their dogs to walk this way. He knows it all like it’s his backyard. Maybe that’s because, at least for most of his life, prime pheasant hunting has been Drew’s backyard. “I grew up in South Central Nebraska, a town called Minden, a small town of about 2,000 people, in what they call the rainwater basin of the state. I cut my teeth pheasant hunting in those areas.” Enhancing Pheasant Hunting Through Effective Habitat Management

Drew’s early days chasing birds through the Nebraska wetlands was the beginning of a life-long love story with pheasant hunting. Today, he’s Vice President of Conservation Delivery at Pheasants Forever, a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving pheasants, quail, and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public access, education, and conservation advocacy. He’s been with the organization for nearly 20 years working his way from regional biologist to the person who now oversees 400 wildlife biologists in 41 states across the country. It’s fair to say Drew understands the importance of habitat management for sustainable pheasant populations. 

Drew recently sat down to talk all things pheasant hunting and habitat. Here, Drew provides some insight into the optimization of land for pheasant hunting and habitat. 

The Pheasant’s Habitat Requirements

Drew points out that pheasants thrive in a mix of habitats including grasslands, croplands, wetlands, and shrub areas. This provides pheasants with food sources, nesting sites, and cover. “Pheasants spend a vast majority of their time on the ground foraging for seeds, so they like weedy types of cover, like sunflowers and things that provide really good aerial protection from predators above.” Here are four key factors that affect a pheasant’s survival and reproduction:

1. Nesting Cover: Undisturbed low- to medium-high grasses and legumes for nesting and brood rearing.
2. Brood Cover:  Undisturbed native forbs and annual weeds that provide bare ground and aerial protection. 
3. Winter Cover:  Tree windbreaks and dense covers of cattails or switchgrass to protect the birds from heavy snow and cold winds.
4. Food sources: Pheasants enjoy a dietary mix of insects, grains, berries, seeds, and flora with nutrient-dense grains making up the bulk of the adult diet in the winter.

Creating a Favorable Pheasant Habitat

Habitat Diversity

When it comes to creating the ideal bird hunting habitat, Drew boils it down to one key concept: diversity. “Pheasants are really an agricultural bird,” he says. “So what you’re looking for is a good mix of ag lands and perennial grass and wildflower cover.” This serves multiple purposes. “A weedy-type habitat attracts the insects chicks and adult birds are feeding on in the spring and summertime of the year. In the fall, those crops are harvested and the birds have an opportunity to switch to a more crop-based diet.” A varied habitat also affords the birds plenty of places to nest and find cover. Successful pheasant habitat includes grasslands, croplands, wetlands, and shrub areas.

Native Vegetation

When optimizing pheasant habitat, native vegetation provides natural food sources and cover. These plants are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, and won’t disrupt the birds’ ability to attain proper nutrition and shelter and nest. 

Food Plots

When it comes to food, Drew reiterates the importance of a weedy habitat for pheasants. “Pheasants will key in on grains in the winter, such as corn, soy beans, and winter wheat, but you’ve gotta remember, in the spring and summer months, they’re primarily feeding on insects and weed seeds. That’s why a weedy habitat is so important.” Maximize your property’s pheasant food opportunities by creating food plots with crops like corn, sorghum, millet, sunflowers, and wheat, which rotate through seasons to provide a consistent diet. 

Cover, Shelter, and Nesting Habitat

Pheasants need quality cover and shelter year-round. Colder temperatures will push birds into more thermal cover and winter cover while warmer climes allow them to spread out and thermoregulate in lighter cover. You can improve pheasant cover by planting a mixture of native grasses and shrubs that can withstand a warmer and colder season. Grasses should be at least 15 inches tall – the magical number for nesting habitat. Winter wheat can provide excellent nesting habitat while forbes and annual weeds make for good brood cover, which should allow for bare ground so chicks can move around and still remain unseen by aerial predators. 

Cattail wetland sleuths offer good thermal cover in the winter and can hold up to snow storms and then there’s the shelter belt. A proper pheasant shelter belt combines tree rows, thickets, and woody vegetation, reducing predation. 

Pheasant Habitat Management Practices

Water Sources

Pheasants require easy access to clean water for drinking and bathing. If your property doesn’t have a water source, consider installing small ponds or water troughs. 

Preserving Riparian Zones

To help maintain a viable pheasant habitat, it’s important to protect and enhance riparian zones – lands that abut streams, rivers, and wetlands. This unique environment interface provides a variety of elements, including clean water, vegetation, ground cover, and food. 

Landowners can enhance riparian areas on pheasant hunting property by limiting stock access, mitigating development, removing any levees or small dams, and controlling invasive plants and animals. 

Minimizing Chemical Use

Pesticides and herbicides can be very harmful to pheasant populations and their food sources. When it comes to effective pheasant habitat management, strictly limit the use of these chemicals near pheasant habitat. 

Predator Management

Maintaining a balanced ecosystem is essential to all healthy habitats, however, excessive predator populations can impact pheasant survival. Bird hunting landowners should consider responsible predator management as necessary. 

Sustainable Hunting Practices

Selective Hunting

As a devout pheasant hunter, Drew has chased his passion for upland birds all over the country. “Since I started working for Pheasants Forever, I’ve broadened my hunting horizons quite a bit. Now I get to take advantage of some other upland bird hunting opportunities beyond Nebraska. Last year, I got to hunt out West in Arizona. I’ve also hunted sage grouse and ruffed grouse out that way. And then I’ve had the opportunity to do quite a bit of sharp tailed grouse and prairie chicken hunting in Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota.” 

Which is all to say he understands the importance of sustainable hunting practices that ensure population longevity and hunting success into the future. Avoid excessive hunting pressure that could negatively affect pheasant populations and practice selective harvesting of birds. This can mean harvesting only males to allow hens to breed the following year. 

Hunting Ethics and Regulations

Even on private hunting property, hunters need to adhere to regional hunting laws and guidelines. Talk with your guides and visiting hunters about hunting ethics and rules for your property. 

Collaborative Conservation Efforts

You might say Drew is a wildlife biologist first and a hunter second, acknowledging that he understands a successful pheasant hunt starts with healthy habitat and habitat management. “A lot of the country that’s producing pheasant and quail is part of the CRP – Conservation Reserve Program. This is a USDA program that pays landowners to take crops out of production and plant perennial cover instead. So the areas where we have our best feathered populations in the country are areas where there’s a really good mix of row crop, CRP, and native grasslands. That’s where we have the highest bird numbers.”

It can be daunting to create such a successful bird hunting habitat alone, which is why it’s important to work with local conservation groups, like Pheasants Forever, and wildlife agencies to define specific improvements you can make to your property. Talk with local wildlife experts and professionals about tailoring habitat modifications to the local ecosystems. 

Conclusion

Owning your dream hunting property can be a generationally rewarding endeavor. Working with local wildlife management entities and conservation groups to ensure long-term habitat wellness is key to providing pheasants and sportsmen sanctuary for years to come. 

It’s important to keep in mind that producing proper pheasant habitat doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time, possibly several seasons until you realize the full benefits. Creating a diverse and suitable habitat enhances land for pheasant hunting while also contributing to the health of overall wildlife populations. 

“Any passionate hunter knows the importance of land conservation and improvement,” says Hayden Outdoors Managing Partner Dax Hayden. “As someone who spends the majority of my time walking some of the country’s last great swaths of ranching, farming, recreational, and hunting land, I can tell you first-hand – conservation matters. At Hayden, we’re proud to partner with Drew and the dedicated folks at Pheasants Forever; they understand what it takes to keep these great places of ours healthy for wildlife and productive for those of us who live, work, and play on them.” 

Pheasants Forever: An Amazing Resource

Becoming a member of Pheasants Forever is a great way to stay in the know about bird hunting and managing of your property for pheasant hunting. Visit the website and simply enter your ZIP code to find the chapter nearest you. Landowners can find their nearest farm bill wildlife biologist for a one-on-one consultation about habitat management. Volunteers can help with local habitat projects and participate in youth or adult hunts. 

Pheasants Forever is vital to the health of the country’s pheasant hunting. Drew drives the point home. “If you’ve hunted pheasants, you’ve most likely hunted in an area that we’ve either helped put on the ground, or advocated for in Washington, D.C., like CRP. If you hunt pheasants, we’ve absolutely had an impact in helping provide areas for people to hunt.”

Secure Exclusive Private Land Access For Pheasant Hunting

Hayden Outdoors Hunt For Habitat 2025 kicks off on November 7th in Goodland, KS. Hunter tickets include two days of exclusive private land access for pheasant hunting, along with live music performances featuring Aiden Logsdon and Grand Ole Opry artist Chancey Williams.