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pheasant figures could be reversed in future tbetribune wepnoavpctofegr4vl art briggsjude correspondent you dont have to be a wildlife biologist to realize that the ring- necked pheasant has all but disappeared from its former haunts in southern ontario first introduced into this province in 1890 the gaudy birds with the raucous calls were such a desirable addition to the local wildlife scene that they were subsequently released as far north as thunder bay while the introduction of these spectacular asian imports failed north of parry sound the popula tion gradually stabilized in the counties south of lake simcoe by 1935 ringnecked pheasants were not only established in lake eries tobacco counties and in the niagara fruit belt they flourish ed all along the north shore of lake ontario as well many peo ple in the napanee and kingston areas remember sizable phea sant populations that extended as far north as hwy 7 and the rideau lakes the cause of the disappearance of this magnificent game bird in ontario is open to question some say it had its roots in the early in troductions from england via the orient often game breeders and bird fanciers intermixed their stock with more emphasis put on appearance than on adaptability the wildest birds often made the least productive breeders and were either culled out or killed themselves against the wire mesh when startled in the northern united states biologists found that the survival rate of released pheasants drop ped dramatically when poults were hatched in incubators prior to artificial hatching phea sant eggs were incubated under broody bantam hens in later years the release of large numbers of these semidomestic pheasants served only to water down the untamed traits of the existing wild birds always a desirable game bird increased hunting including the shooting of hen birds has been fingered as one of the main reasons for the pheasants decline yet in many places where no hunting was permitted the colorful birds also vanished theres no doubt the loss of habitat and the changing agricultural practices in most places have depleted the numbers of pheasants as it has native wildfowl such as ducks woodcock and grouse harry lumsden former head of mnrs research station at maple ont says that following world war ii the introduction of herbicides and the elimination of fence rows and hedges dealt a doublebarrelled blow to our pheasant population blair dawson retired mnr central region fish and wildlife biologist from richmond hill makes no bones about the fact that little was done by the ministry to slow the ringnecked pheasants decline one small but significant contribution to the pheasants status in ontario oc curred in the early 1980s wilhemina dorsey renowned gospel soloist at the uxbridge baptist church sunday october 8th 730 pm all welcome siloam orchards 7300 3rd concession 8529418 now open i over 30 varieties of alarfree apples 100 pure honey and maple syrup see us at the stouffville sales barn 8 km wfest of uxbridge on durham 8 to 3rd 1 km north on left hours monfri 96 sat sun 95 at that time bohemian black- necked pheasants were released by the mnr near cambridge ont a darker bird without the familiar white neckring they frequent the woodlands more than their upland relatives to date a small but persistent flock of these socalled blacknecks is thriving around the release point and in some of the brushy ravines in metropolitan toronto in a further bid to return pheasants to at least some of their former haunts in eastern ontario the westport area out door association began a long- range reintroduction plan last year at that time 100 black- necked pheasants and 86 ring- necks were released in and around the foley mountain park on the outskirts of westport gormley news couple celebrates 62nd anniversary belated contratulations to mr and mrs russ ellas who had their 62nd wedding anniversary on sept 25 mr and mrs frank bennett and mr and mrs clifford winger attended heritage day at niagara christian college at fort erie on saturday the young adults sunday school class of the heise hill church sponsored a bus trip to nashville tenn for several days to attend a gospel music convention mr and mrs lloyd hogg and mr and mrs brad hogg attend ed the opening of a new medical clinic in elliot lake their son dr craig hogg is associated with the clinic mr and mrs frank bennett and mr and mrs clifford winger spent sunday with mr and mrs ray winger in listowell mr and mr ray hawkins entertained mrs gertie baker mr clarence summerfeldt miss pearl warwick mrs ruth warder miss genevieve bruce mrs beula jones and mr and mrs mel baker on sunday in honor of mrs joness 89th birthday there will be a baby shower for krystle todd infant daughter of mr and mrs kevin todd on oct 5 at the heise hill church our wood will floor you solid pine unfinished maple bruce hardwood free jf hardware post beam stain and accessories custom windows doors trim moulding flooring hardware and security products quality service value store hours monthurs 730500 friday 730 700 saturday 830 1230 corner of hwy 48 stouffville rd 6406616 6421633