Pheasants in Ireland, good or bad???

Feargal as Luimneach

Pheasants as we all know are an alien species which were introduced into this country primarily for sport shooting. Pheasants would probably become extinct in Ireland only for the vast amount of birds released by gun clubs.
On one side one could say that pheasants are eating food that native birds are eating, therefore they compete for resources with rare animals such as corncrake. On Tory island there fears that the increasing Pheasasnt population there is having a negative impact on corncraks. Areas in which huge areas of pheasants are released, pheasants can have an impact on species such as common lizards and newts. The pheasants feed on those animals.
On the other side, Pheasant management at its best provides lots of cover and food that benefits other species.
Thoughts?

switcher

Hi Op,
Interesting thread topic, although pheasants are not indigenous to this country they do however provide ecosystem services which benefit the environment as well as holding a certain economic status. Pheasants and other game birds alone can keep certain communities alive on an economic front attracting plenty of money. On the ecology side of it, they are another source of competition for other native birds but its worth remembering that pheasants have a relatively short shelf life. The fact that th

ey usually have been reared in captivity since hatch lings ensures a certain naivety towards humans when they are released which make easy pickings for both guns and cars. Often being released in oct/nov with the majority being eradicated by the big guns usually by February or March. For those who escape the chances of a successful hatch are quite slim. Weighing it up in my opinion, any birds which escape the shooting season and other dangers which await them when they are freed from the release pen are usually few, so few in fact the effect they have on other species re competition is negligible. As regards predation on newts, the fact they are rare enough in Eire along with their amphibian lifestyle does not suit the feeding habitats Pheasants use to feed. Pheasants tend to be more vegetarian than carnivores, so not sure if their hunting methods would be precise enough to catch a lizard or newt as they are quite agile. Anyway thats my two cents worth!!

magicbastarder

would they provide food for other animals?

switcher

Yes fox's and some birds of prey would predate on them. The fact that they are often reared in big pens usually in the countryside means they are fed every day using feeders sometimes automatic but usually some one is on hand to feed them. This means there is food there for other birds as well as attracting an increasing rats which in turn provide food for a range of species.

bibio

Fergal, your assertion they would become extinct is flawed, I feel. They would certianly be hugely reduced in population, however pheasants would in all probability hang on in small self sustaining populations. In the UK around areas like Holkham, norfolk broads and ely in cambridgeshire there are successful wild bird shoots where no releasing has taken place in those areas, or surrounding areas in over fifty years, and yet population remains very stable. I am familiar with remote areas of Leitrim where there would be no release scheme within twenty miles, for the last twenty years and pheasants here, are in stable numbers. The birds themselves are completley different in size to released birds being much slimmer, almost wiry, and a lot wilder.
In relation to Newts and corncrakes, obviously if you had a large relase scheme in a small concentrated area such as on an island such as Tory, you could have a competition issue, other than that, it is a tenuous hypothesis that pheasants would be detrimental enough to cause an isuse. There are pros and cons, but if anyone is any doubt of the benefits of gamebird release they should have look around a managed shoots, and the beneift to all wildlife of: Ponds, wetland scrapes, woodland coverts, game crops and grain hoppers. Recently while walking my dog in Dromoland castle, I passed a game cover crop of Sunflower and millet, and the flocks of finches literelly had to be seen to be believed, a magnificent sight.

Birdnuts

switcher wrote: »

some birds of prey would predate on them. .

Mainly Sparrowhawks though in general BOP are responsible for less then 5% of all loses in pen reared birds - foxes, mink and even rats(major egg thieves) exert a far higher toil - in the order of 50-60%. Indeed my experience has been that more and more are being killed on roads in the last few years:(

Birdnuts

My view on this subject would be that Pheasants are one of our more benign exotics though I would rather see more efforts(in terms of rearing and habitat protection) go into native gamebirds like Quail and Grey Partridge

Feargal as Luimneach

Birdnuts wrote: »

My view on this subject would be that Pheasants are one of our more benign exotics though I would rather see more efforts(in terms of rearing and habitat protection) go into native gamebirds like Quail and Grey Partridge

X2
It would be brillant to have native Grey Partridge and quail all over the country rather than vastly inferior non-native birds such as pheasant. Most pheasants in this country are little more than domestic chickens.

Feargal as Luimneach

bibio wrote: »

In relation to Newts and corncrakes, obviously if you had a large relase scheme in a small concentrated area such as on an island such as Tory, you could have a competition issue, other than that, it is a tenuous hypothesis that pheasants would be detrimental enough to cause an issue.

The increase in pheasants on Tory has coincided with the fall in corncrake numbers. Pheasants should be removed without delay from Tory, eventhough it is not proven without doubt. The corncrakes are just too important, the pheasants are not.

IceMaiden

<MOD SNIP> Unless some organisation based in Ireland can come up with good evidence to the contrary I would say the pheasant
is of some help to the other bird population in Ireland looking at the work done by the game & wildlife conservancy trust they say the following ;-Songbirds in pheasant woods Key findings Bird numbers in November-December were 1.5 times higher in woods where pheasants were released than in a comparable sample of non-game woods.
Add to that the feeding & watering stations for the game birds & the variety of crops that are sown or managed for them its easily noticeable how other wildlife takes advantage if it can.

Feargal as Luimneach

IceMaiden wrote: »

<MOD SNIP> Unless some organisation based in Ireland can come up with good evidence to the contrary I would say the pheasant
is of some help to the other bird population in Ireland looking at the work done by the game & wildlife conservancy trust they say the following ;-Songbirds in pheasant woods Key findings Bird numbers in November-December were 1.5 times higher in woods where pheasants were released than in a comparable sample of non-game woods.
Add to that the feeding & watering stations for the game birds & the variety of crops that are sown or managed for them its easily noticeable how other wildlife takes advantage if it can.

Did you not read my first post? The last line reads:
"On the other side, Pheasant management at its best provides lots of cover and food that benefits other species"
I was giving pro's and con's

littlebug

Please keep comments on the topic of the current thread.
If anyone has any problem with a post please use the report post function.

littlebug

Is the pheasant population increase on Tory (or other islands for that matter) greater than on the mainland? I'm assuming that the liklihood of being shot is lower (if at all?).

Half-cocked

I've never really given much thought to the negative impact of released pheasants on our natural environment before reading this thread. I know from being involved in a small scale pheasant shoot that they are very susceptable to various diseases. Now I wonder if they carry diseases that can be passed on to native species? Has this area been researched and is there a negative impact?

On the positive side, I have observed huge numbers of native birds feeding from our pheasant feeders during the recent cold spells. Yellowhammers, chaffinches, goldfinches, linnets, greenfinches, redpolls etc etc. The availability of pheasant feed to other species must play an important role in helping them survive extreme cold weather episodes like the one we are seeing now.

The mention of Tory Island reminded me of the pheasants on another island, Great Saltee, where I spent a week one November doing a seal census. Pheasants were released there, I think in the 60's. There are no foxes or mink on the island, although there are rats. There would be some predation by birds of prey. Obviously there are no cars and no one really bothers shooting there anymore because the pheasants taste foul - their staple diet is bluebell bulbs. The density of pheasants is incredible. In a walk around the perimeter of the island, which would be about 4 miles, I counted over 300 cock pheasants that I flushed. I didn't have a dog so many more would have slunk away through the undergrowth. I didn't count hens and my walk would have covered less than 10% of the area of the Island, so I can only imagine what the entire population might be. This density of pheasants must have some impact on the ecology of the Island. I know corncrakes were present historicaly, but don't know if the pheasants drove them out.

Feargal as Luimneach

Half-cocked wrote: »

I've never really given much thought to the negative impact of released pheasants on our natural environment before reading this thread. I know from being involved in a small scale pheasant shoot that they are very susceptable to various diseases. Now I wonder if they carry diseases that can be passed on to native species? Has this area been researched and is there a negative impact?

On the positive side, I have observed huge numbers of native birds feeding from our pheasant feeders during the recent cold spells. Yellowhammers, chaffinches, goldfinches, linnets, greenfinches, redpolls etc etc. The availability of pheasant feed to other species must play an important role in helping them survive extreme cold weather episodes like the one we are seeing now.

The mention of Tory Island reminded me of the pheasants on another island, Great Saltee, where I spent a week one November doing a seal census. Pheasants were released there, I think in the 60's. There are no foxes or mink on the island, although there are rats. There would be some predation by birds of prey. Obviously there are no cars and no one really bothers shooting there anymore because the pheasants taste foul - their staple diet is bluebell bulbs. The density of pheasants is incredible. In a walk around the perimeter of the island, which would be about 4 miles, I counted over 300 cock pheasants that I flushed. I didn't have a dog so many more would have slunk away through the undergrowth. I didn't count hens and my walk would have covered less than 10% of the area of the Island, so I can only imagine what the entire population might be. This density of pheasants must have some impact on the ecology of the Island. I know corncrakes were present historicaly, but don't know if the pheasants drove them out.

That's some amount of pheasants:eek:. With such a high density of birds I'm sure that they would be highly vunerable to disease. It would be likely that the population could crash.
With that amount of birds it must, as you said, have an impact on other species of birds. I imagine they compete with the vast amount of passage migrants that land on the Island looking to refuel.

googsy

Who looks after the corncrakes on Tory Island ? Surely they could just get a few people together and do a cull on them like the way the National Parks and Wildlife service do on the deer population from time to time.

How did they let it get out of hand like that ? Considering the importance of the corncrake as a red listed bird. Maybe someone needs their knuckles wrapped for that since pheasants are pretty easy to shoot !

Sorry don't mean to rant.. I just can't seem to get my head around how something like this has been allowed to happen.

Feargal as Luimneach

googsy wrote: »

Who looks after the corncrakes on Tory Island ? Surely they could just get a few people together and do a cull on them like the way the National Parks and Wildlife service do on the deer population from time to time.

How did they let it get out of hand like that ? Considering the importance of the corncrake as a red listed bird. Maybe someone needs their knuckles wrapped for that since pheasants are pretty easy to shoot !

Sorry don't mean to rant.. I just can't seem to get my head around how something like this has been allowed to happen.

Pheasants wouldn't be top of the list of problems for the corncrake on Tory. Feral cats:mad:, dogs runningin fields:mad:, people on quads:mad::mad: and overgrazing by sheep:mad::mad: are more serious problems.

googsy

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Pheasants wouldn't be top of the list of problems for the corncrake on Tory. Feral cats:mad:, dogs runningin fields:mad:, people on quads:mad::mad: and overgrazing by sheep:mad::mad: are more serious problems.

Ah ok... I taught Tory was uninhabited ( Apologies to the people of Tory Island )

Eh Feargal... I posted that I was looking at a Long Eared Owl in another thread there ( you thanked it ) Ya never guess what's after happening... my dad puts out 2 Steak and Kidney pies for a fox that comes around every night... My dad ran up to me and said when he came in and looked out the kitchen window the Long Eared Owl came down and tried to grab one of them and flew off lol

Do you think they'd do any damage to them if it was to eat it ??

Fckin hell I'll be up all night with this stuff going on out back

( sorry off topic lol )

Feargal as Luimneach

Wouldn't think so, he'll probably just eat the meat. he must be hungry. Your lucky i've never seen a long eared owl in the wild.

googsy

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Wouldn't think so, he'll probably just eat the meat. he must be hungry. Your lucky i've never seen a long eared owl in the wild.

I went out to examine the pie it seems it landed on it and sort of split it in two... It hasn't been back in the last 15 minutes or so... From watching it for a while it didn't seem to be having too much success at the mice... ( There's always mice and the odd rat around due to all the seed we throw out for the birds, but the snow is pretty heavy on the ground )

First time seeing a Long Eared Owl so close. We have Barn Owls around the locality that I see every so often ( more on the late summer evenings before dusk )

I'll be keeping a regular eye on that washing line poll in the future !

Thanks

Rockery Woman

Pheasants in Ireland - Good.

Ive noticed that some pheasant rearers are crossing the breed with more exotic types (one cock pheasant I saw recently looked very like a large parrot! - really beautiful). Apparently these new strains of pheasant are more difficult to hunt as they scurry faster through ditches and hedgerows.

I like pheasants, there is a beautiful cock-pheasant who visits my garden regularly and I give him some grain and mash I use to feed my chickens. Its the same principle as using a bird table/peanut feeders for wild birds as far as Im concerned.

They do no harm. I know there is a grey-partridge re-introduction scheme in the Blackstairs Mountains where I live and I have been lucky enough to see some of them visit my garden too. These "game-birds" dont cause any harm to wildlife - unlike the dreadful, non-indigenous magpie - which has no predators and decimates wild bird populations!

Feargal as Luimneach

Rockery Woman wrote: »

Pheasants in Ireland - Good.

Ive noticed that some pheasant rearers are crossing the breed with more exotic types (one cock pheasant I saw recently looked very like a large parrot! - really beautiful). Apparently these new strains of pheasant are more difficult to hunt as they scurry faster through ditches and hedgerows.

I like pheasants, there is a beautiful cock-pheasant who visits my garden regularly and I give him some grain and mash I use to feed my chickens. Its the same principle as using a bird table/peanut feeders for wild birds as far as Im concerned.

They do no harm. I know there is a grey-partridge re-introduction scheme in the Blackstairs Mountains where I live and I have been lucky enough to see some of them visit my garden too. These "game-birds" dont cause any harm to wildlife - unlike the dreadful, non-indigenous magpie - which has no predators and decimates wild bird populations!

Magpie are native. They do have natural predator (buzzards and now Golden eagle, Red Kite and white-tailed eagles). They don't decimate wild bird populations, people do that.
Never heard about re-introduction of grey partridge in Blackstairs mountains. Any link?

Rockery Woman

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Magpie are native. They do have natural predator (buzzards and now Golden eagle, Red Kite and white-tailed eagles). They don't decimate wild bird populations, people do that.

whoops so my info was wrong - I really thought they were introduced here - feel kinda stupid now!:o

Dusty87

Link for magpies being native Fearghal??

Half-cocked

Magpies are believed to have arrived naturally in Ireland in the 1600's, or so I seem to remember reading. I always feel frustrated when some cat owner lectures me on how the magpies devastate our songbirds:D

Scotty #

Are you sure the pheasant population would decrease if there was no releases? I find this hard to believe?

There has definitely been a huge increase in population around my folks home is the last 2-3 years. Where you used to see one or two in the fields around the house you now see 12+ at a time. I put it down to the massive decrease in shooting.

I remember years ago on the 1st Nov you would see several guys out shooting with several birds caught. I can't remember the last time I saw someone with a gun and a dog in the fields. Even many of my mates that would have been big into it years ago only shoot clays now.

On a side note.... I do think they pose a threat to motorists on the M1 between Drogheda and Balbriggan. I've hit two so far and one very nearly came right through the windscreen. Scared the crap out of me! Shattered the window and sprayed glass flakes all over me. Seen others have several near misses too.

Dusty87

Half-cocked wrote: »

Magpies are believed to have arrived naturally in Ireland in the 1600's, or so I seem to remember reading. I always feel frustrated when some cat owner lectures me on how the magpies devastate our songbirds:D

I read somewhere that they were introduced in or around the 1700's,
thats why id like to see a link from fearghal. Like everything though on the net, theres one link and another to dispute it i suppose

Magpies were apparently first recorded in Wexford in 1676: a report of a flock of a dozen flying in over the sea. Breeding in Dublin was first noted in 1852. Magpies have shown a marked increase in numbers over much of the country since the late 1940s. A dramatic fall in the species population in the late 1950s and early 1960s seems to have been the result of certain agricultural chemicals. Following the withdrawal of organochlorine pesticides used as seed dressings, Magpie numbers have increased. There has been a notable spread into urban areas, and they now breed in inner Dublin.

Birdnuts

Dusty87 wrote: »

I read somewhere that they were introduced in or around the 1700's,
thats why id like to see a link from fearghal. Like everything though on the net, theres one link and another to dispute it i suppose

Thanx for that info Dusty - those organochlorine pesticides like DDT did serious damage to a whole host of species from peregrines to partridges. Fish eating birds were also badly hit which lead to these nasties being banned in the early 70's, in a large part thanx to Rachel Carson's seminal work from 1963 Silent Spring

PS: AFAIK magpies arrived here in the 1600's after about a dozen were blown over in a storm onto the Wexford coast

Dusty87

Birdnuts wrote: »

Thanx for that info Dusty - those organochlorine pesticides like DDT did serious damage to a whole host of species from peregrines to partridges. Fish eating birds were also badly hit which lead to these nasties being banned in the early 70's, in a large part thanx to Rachel Carson's seminal work from 1963 Silent Spring

PS: AFAIK magpies arrived here in the 1600's after about a dozen were blown over in a storm onto the Wexford coast

Taken from here
http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Advice/FAQ/MagpieFAQ/tabid/374/Default.aspx

Because they arrived 'naturally', does that mean they are native??

Dusty87

Scotty # wrote: »

Are you sure the pheasant population would decrease if there was no releases? I find this hard to believe?

Fairly sure, i remember someone saying here gun clubs in Wicklow alone release over 80,000 birds a year (Birdnuts maybe). They are not suited to our country and do not breed that successfully here. Turkeys were released on a small scare in the 60's and did not survive. And its believed they are more suited to here than pheasants

blackstairsboy

It is believed that the magpie first appeared in the country in 1676. Following a ferocious storm a flock was observed in Wexford, presumably having been blown across from Wales. (Douglas Butlers Rough Shooting in Ireland).

And there is still heaps of them in Wexford:mad:

As regards a partridge scheme in the Blackstairs I think you are mistaken. There is a Grouse scheme ongoing on the mountains. They have released Grouse and are managing the habitat to try and reintroduce the Red Grouse to Mt Leinster. Rathnure and district gunclub are doing the work as far as I know. They are also releasing Partridges which is where you got mixed up. The club is located next to the mountain but they are not releasing the partridges onto the hill.

Birdnuts

Dusty87 wrote: »

Because they arrived 'naturally', does that mean they are native??

By definition that would make them native - its how other birds species around the world spread(before the malign influence of man) over many millions of years and led to the evolution of the likes of the Dodo, Moa etc.:)

Birdnuts

blackstairsboy wrote: »

It is believed that the magpie first appeared in the country in 1676. Following a ferocious storm a flock was observed in Wexford, presumably having been blown across from Wales. (Douglas Butlers Rough Shooting in Ireland).

.

That is my understanding of how they arrived here too:)

Feargal as Luimneach

Dusty87 wrote: »

Taken from here
http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Advice/FAQ/MagpieFAQ/tabid/374/Default.aspx

Because they arrived 'naturally', does that mean they are native??

What is your definition of native??
Little Egret, Mediterranean gull, reed warbler, great skua and possible Ring-billed gull have all only rececntly started to breed in Ireland (last 20 years). Would you consider them native?

Half-cocked

Birdnuts wrote: »

By definition that would make them native - its how other birds species around the world spread(before the malign influence of man) over many millions of years and led to the evolution of the likes of the Dodo, Moa etc.:)

In recent times we've seen Collard Doves, Little Egrets and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers to name but a few all arrive here naturally and must now be considered native. Unlike Pheasants, Canada Geese, Mandarin Ducks, Red Legged Partridge etc which are introduced.

Dusty87

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

What is your definition of native??
Little Egret, Mediterranean gull, reed warbler, great skua and possible Ring-billed gull have all only rececntly started to breed in Ireland (last 20 years). Would you consider them native?

I thought it was what was here after the ice age ended, seeing as thats what used when people go on about introducing boar and wolves as they were native. I only asked a question Fearghal. What has my definition got to do with anything btw??

Feargal as Luimneach

Dusty87 wrote: »

I thought it was what was here after the ice age ended, seeing as thats what used when people go on about introducing boar and wolves as they were native. I only asked a question Fearghal. What has my definition got to do with anything btw??

I only asked a question also. I was was curious to what criteria you used for something to be considered native.

Dusty87

The ice age thing, which i got here. I dont claim it to be right. Just what i believed. So then whats native to you then?? Also do you have that link for them on a native species list

Scotty #

In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention.

Every natural organism (as opposed to a domesticated organism) has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native. Outside this native range, a species may be introduced by human activity; it is then referred to as an introduced species within the regions where it was anthropogenically introduced.

An indigenous species is not necessarily endemic. In biology and ecology, endemic means exclusively native to the biota of a specific place. An indigenous species may occur in areas other than the one under consideration.

The terms endemic and indigenous do not imply that an organism necessarily originated or evolved where it is found.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_(ecology)

Feargal as Luimneach

Dusty87 wrote: »

The ice age thing, which i got here. I dont claim it to be right. Just what i believed. So then whats native to you then?? Also do you have that link for them on a native species list

List of Irish birds that have been recorded in Ireland (end of 2008 list)
http://www.irbc.ie/topbar/IrishList/IRBC_IrishList(31122008).pdf
This is the link that catergories them:
http://www.irbc.ie/topbar/categories.php

Dusty87

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

List of Irish birds that have been recorded in Ireland (end of 2008 list)
http://www.irbc.ie/topbar/IrishList/IRBC_IrishList(31122008).pdf
This is the link that catergories them:
http://www.irbc.ie/topbar/categories.php

Em thanks, i guess.

recedite

Half-cocked wrote: »

Magpies are believed to have arrived naturally in Ireland in the 1600's,

Pheasants were here long before that.

Half-cocked wrote: »

In recent times we've seen Collard Doves, Little Egrets and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers to name but a few all arrive here naturally and must now be considered native. Unlike Pheasants, Canada Geese, Mandarin Ducks, Red Legged Partridge etc which are introduced.

How do you know that no pheasants or others eg. Canada Geese blew over in a storm?
From Wiki;
"Canada Geese have reached northern Europe naturally, as has been proved by ringing recoveries. The birds are of at least the subspecies parvipes, and possibly others"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Goose

Feargal as Luimneach

recedite wrote: »

Pheasants were here long before that.

How do you know that no pheasants or others eg. Canada Geese blew over in a storm?
From Wiki;
"Canada Geese have reached northern Europe naturally, as has been proved by ringing recoveries. The birds are of at least the subspecies parvipes, and possibly others"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Goose

The nearest true wild pheasants are in the eastern Black sea. Pheasants (ring necked pheasants) are sedentary/non-migratory. The chances of them setting up a natural population are practically zero.

The true wild canada geese that are true vagrants to the country are invariably the smaller subspecies (Richardson's and Cackling). The feral population of geese present (introduced) are of the much larger subspecies.
(Ps. Some people consider the cackling goose a distinct species and not just a subspecies)

Birdnuts

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

The nearest true wild pheasants are in the eastern Black sea. Pheasants (ring necked pheasants) are sedentary/non-migratory. The chances of them setting up a natural population are practically zero.

The true wild canada geese that are true vagrants to the country are invariably the smaller subspecies (Richardson's and Cackling). The feral population of geese present (introduced) are of the much larger subspecies.
(Ps. Some people consider the cackling goose a distinct species and not just a subspecies)

You beat me to it;)

magicbastarder

i assume this is a female pheasant? was taken in cabra, which is not somewhere i'm used to seeing them.

i've linked to, rather than embedded, the photo, because it's roadkill and is a bit bloody.

http://stroma.org/kevin/links/2011-01-03.12.49.11.jpg

Feargal as Luimneach

Looks like a juvenile gull to me. Most likely/possibly a first winter herring gull. You can see the dark secondaries, which are showing up as a dark rectangle on the trailing edge of the wing. You can see the dark tail band constrasting with the pale rump. Poor gull:(

Connacht

But is anything actually known on wild pheasant breeding success in Ireland ?
I would have thought that given how they are so widespread around the country, that a reasonable proportion must be breeding successfully in the wild, no ?

nilhg

There's quite a stable breeding population round about us here, every year from the tractor/combine I'd see 4 or 5 different clutches and if we have a half decent summer many of the hens will rear two separate clutches.

Years ago (70s) there was a local gun club which used to rear and release birds, but I doubt if many of them ever lasted through to breed

homerhop

nilhg wrote: »

Years ago (70s) there was a local gun club which used to rear and release birds, but I doubt if many of them ever lasted through to breed

There are mixed debates on the ability of released birds successfully rearing clutches. From my own personal experience on rearing and releasing and advice from career gamekeepers,a productive season for a game club will be around the 40% mark of birds released. Going on that clubs releasing would have to do less and less each year if the birds released hatched clutches. In 10 years of releasing in my local area I have seen very little increase in the amount of clutches around during the summer.

recedite

homerhop wrote: »

Going on that clubs releasing would have to do less and less each year if the birds released hatched clutches.

No that logic is flawed, a stable population would establish, the numbers would depend on the habitat, but would be smaller than that required by shooters. Thats why you have to keep adding to the population, to keep it artificially high.

For similar reasons but in reverse, foxes and rats do not have to be bred and released, even though they are constantly being culled. It's hard to keep their population density artificially below the natural level.

homerhop

The habitat was over 300 acres of woodland and roughly 3000 acres around it, with a good mixture of feed both in it and on adjoining lands. While the numbers of adult birds visible in the area increased the number of released birds having clutches did not.