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Originally posted by Bernard:
My garden angel had not been seen for ? weeks. She's a couple feet tall at least and sits on a stump that's 10-12" tall. I think we melted at least 10" yesterday and today.

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Originally posted by big al:
I am amazed by how prevalent wild turkeys have become. I never saw them in the wild until about thirty years ago and now I see them regularly. Meanwhile, pheasants have become nearly nonexistant. It's been several years since I've seen one in the wild. There's a lot about wildlife population that I don't understand.

Big Al

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:

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Originally posted by BeeLady:
And the man himself..

Love this guy!

I especially like his "stations of the cross" and the whimsy in the things he makes from horseshoes.

If I had a piece of his work I would paint it though.

I have a real aversion to rust.

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Originally posted by BeeLady:
Yankee Magazine did a great piece on The Return of Native Turkeys. At least here in New England.

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PHEASANT POPULATION DECLINE

Pennsylvania had the distinction of having some of the highest pheasant densities in the nation around 1970. Why? The federal government developed programs to idle highly erodible farmland and boost crop prices. The Soil Bank (1956-66) and Feed Grain Program (1960s to 1973), idled 500,000 to 600,000 acres in Pennsylvania. Much of this land when idled was already planted in fields of timothy and clover, a preferred nesting cover for pheasants. When these federal programs were discontinued, farmland was put back into production.

By the mid 1970s, pheasant population and harvest trends had begun to decline. Not only in Pennsylvania, but in all eastern states. Economic trends in agriculture have resulted in intensified farming practices. Increased pesticide use, row crop acreage, earlier hay mowing, drainage of wetlands, the elimination of hedgerows on agricultural lands, and increasing urban sprawl all have contributed to the decline of pheasant populations.

More subtle changes also are taking their toll on pheasants and other wildlife dependent on farmland and grassland habitats. The few hedgerows and small woodlots that still exist may seem to remain unchanged, but as they mature, the understory cover so important to pheasants, rabbits and many other animals diminishes. Brushy areas have grown into small woodlots, and the small woodlots of years ago are maturing into forests that provide habitat for squirrels, turkey and deer.

Pheasant range has shrunk at an alarming rate. Approximately 716,000 acres of farmland mostly prime pheasant habitat were lost to urban development from the mid-'70s through the early 1990s. Within the last decade, the greatest changes to Pennsylvania's farmland have been the permanent conversion of agricultural lands to commercial and residential development. The intensification of farming on remaining agricultural areas provides little winter cover and virtually no secure nesting cover for pheasants. Besides the direct loss of wildlife habitat, development leads to more roads and more traffic. This fragmentation often results in habitat patches too small to sustain viable pheasant populations.