FLYNT FARM’S BLASTED BIRD BULLETIN

2005-06 Hunting Report:

Flynt Farms has filled five two day hunts to date and the inquiries are coming in with increased intensity each week that passes.  Our normal season long bookings are limited to eight two day hunts through the months of December and January. 

Our observation of the great spring and early summer hatches followed by a good number of late summer hatches are reassuring that the 2005-06 season is going to be one to remember.  Locally we had a tremendous carryover population due to another mild winter.  We had some nice late winter snows but the wind and the extreme cold did not make a lasting appearance to cause any weakening of our good carryover numbers.  The winter moisture only caused our habitat to make a strong showing of bouncing back during the spring thaw and providing good over-story for predator protection of the young broods out foraging for insects.  Late summer brought its usual hardships of dryness and extreme heat that can weaken the growing young pheasants and cause them to search areas for moisture that at times make them vulnerable to avian predators.  Flynt Farms tried to make it as easy as possible by providing watering stations that have some overhead protection including but not limited to drip irrigation of our shelter belts.  We have found that the little 6"deep plastic 'kiddy pools' make great pheasant waterers when placed under shrubs or trees which provide shading and cooling.  The water pools also attract bugs to both the surface of the water and the damp area beneath the pools so it is a win-win deal for the birds.  We also have seen first-hand that once the watering stations are in place and the birds find the location that the word seems to spread like wildfire and the birds are drawn to those waterers from up to a mile away.  This makes our conservation efforts become as a magnet drawing in birds from neighboring fields to take advantage of the easy life found at Flynt Farms.  This is the heart of our belief that the things you do to make the life of a native bird a little easier or a little safer goes a long way towards a successful propagation of our wildlife.  Couple together the fact that we limit hunter pressure and strive to not allow our numbers to get below huntable numbers before we divert hunter pressure elsewhere and give the birds left a chance to rebuild.  We have a number of our leases we intentionally leave un-hunted for a season for this very reason- to build the numbers back for the next year.  We realize that if we do not manage our resources wisely, then we are essentially out of business since we do not buy our birds or raise them in growing pens like sheep-to-slaughter. 

Native pheasants have a unique ability to bounce back if given a little assistance with proper care and habitat.  It is like they have a God-given fifth sense to take extra precautions to avoid areas with heavy hunter pressure and seek greater solitude in an adjoining field even if the habitat is not as good or as protective from natural predators.  They would just as soon take their chances in more open areas than to be subject to constant lookout for the next pickup load of hunters.  This is why we feel it is important to limit hunter pressure of a field to once a week.  This gives the birds a break and allows things to quiet down and give them a sense of normalcy. 

Pheasants, as many of you know, are very habitual and develop a routine they seldom veer from unless pressured to do so.  They like to roost overnight in grassy cover and prefer diversity, hence the ‘quilting effect’ many of you read about in conservation publications.  From an aerial viewpoint, the agricultural diversity in the terrain (ex. grain field to grassland to shrubby or wooded areas) ideally would have the appearance of the patchwork of a quilt and the tighter proximity to one another and smaller the areas (ex. 5-30 acres each) the better. They do not like to have a great distance to travel to move from their roosting area to feeding areas such as grain fields which they will move to soon after dawn.  A gravel road between the two is a bonus as they can place a little grit in their gizzard for better digestion.  Wildlife ‘corridors’ are a real plus in aiding movement from one area to another.  A fence line overgrown in weeds, a creek channel, or wider spaced row crops with clear and easy running room beneath are ideal connecting paths.  If you then add a little green crop to the nearby mix, winter wheat for example, then a pheasant has a substitute water source nearby.  I have discovered over the years that a single blade of green wheat was often within the contents of a bird’s crop while dressing out the pheasant kill for the day.  It occurred to me that there must be sufficient water content in the green blades to provide the daily water requirement.  The pheasant is an amazingly adaptable bird. 

Once the feeding period is complete by late morning the birds begin to migrate to a safe zone to loaf the afternoon away.  Usually it is back into the roosting area, but the exception is if the grain field cover is sufficiently safe then the birds can remain throughout the day and not bother with moving to the roosting area until after the late afternoon feeding which normally occurs from 4 pm until sunset.  The roosting area can be something other than a big grassy area if certain safety factors exist.  One safety factor a pheasant becomes comfortable with is anything that limits ground predator movement or affords the pheasant good vision over the roosting area.  For example, sandburs are a remarkable predator (coyote) restrictor but seem to have little effect on the pheasant.  Thistle patches also are used extensively for the basic same reasons.  I never really enjoyed walking through a heavy thistle patch and can understand why a pad-footed predator would pass on the attempt at a meal from within.  Even a light to thinly covered density area can be suitable if the bird’s great natural vision is enhanced by being a little higher elevation than the surrounding area allowing the bird to detect trouble coming in advance. 

From a guiding standpoint, it makes very good sense to rest the birds between hunting pressures in order to not force a change in behavior.  It makes me look good and life is much easier and the birds are assuredly more predictable.  I like those attributes!

The September issue of Great Plains Game & Fish gave an encouraging report on the pheasant crop making a great comeback throughout the High Plains from the effects of the severe drought of season's 2001-02.  Other reports are likely to follow with similar observations that the upcoming pheasant season will be a real boon.  Of course, the greatest sheer numbers of birds remains in the premier pheasant state of South Dakota.  Once many of you consider today's gasoline costs and the brutal non-scenic drive of getting there I think it makes us look like a very good alternative.  Many of you have shared that sentiment with me having experienced the 'higher plains' and found that we can provide an ample number of birds and shorten the trip immensely.  Something to consider even with Oklahoma's high out-of-state license cost and lower bag limits.  I would welcome you to come and make the comparison yourself. 

On a more local observation, the quail population is riding the shirttails of the rise in pheasant numbers.  I personally believe the season right around the corner will provide one of the best opportunities to gain a satisfying mixed bag of both pheasant and quail than has been offered in many years.  We were spotting young quail hatches no bigger than a chicken egg as late as the first week of September.  These birds will be noticeably smaller come opening quail season on November 12, 2005 here in Oklahoma.  It seems to me that where you would see one covey there is two this year and with good numbers in each.  We are considering doing a limited number of guided quail hunts for the first time this year.  If this sounds interesting to you give us a call!

It would be advisable to adjust your shotgun load to accommodate for the chance of such a mixed bag.  This could be the year that high brass sixes and seven and a-half’s are a better choice lessening the chance of field-dressing a poor quail that was not allowed sufficient distance before being fired upon by heavy pheasant load.  Magnum loads may be better left at home this year.

The recent 90-day weather forecast calls for weather in the panhandle between now and February to be warmer than normal and too close to call one way or the other on our precipitation chances.  Southwest Texas and southeastern New Mexico are expecting drier than normal weather while a band encompassing the area that saw heavy rains already from hurricane Rita, from far southeast Texas north through the boundary of Texas and Arkansas and up to southeast Oklahoma in the above normal rainfall area.  This may allow for favorable hunting weather deep into the season well into January.  As always, if in doubt, you can check out our website for more current up to date weather on one of our links found at www.flyntfarms.com  

In conclusion, it is easy to see why we are very excited about the prospects of the upcoming wing season and we certainly hope that you have made an effort to benefit.

We thank those of you that have already made plans to visit us again this season, and others for the first time, and hope that schedules and other factors come together for the rest of you to make the trip.  We always appreciate the opportunity to show off our great hunting land, afford some great wing shooting, and reacquaint ourselves with all our hunting friends new and old.  It can be a very rewarding and memory making time for family and friends to enjoy, and those times seem very fleeting from us at times.  Come cease the moment of opportunity and see us!  God Bless each of you!

Your Next Wing Guide,

Larry D. Flynt

Flynt Farms Upland Hunting
Turpin, OK
580-778-3556 or
580-539-1978
lrflynt@ptsi.net