Unexpected find... Pheasant in Quebec

[pacobillie]

I have a country house in Boileau, Quebec, which is in hunting zone 10 East. Yesterday afternoon, I headed back home at about 3PM. I left before darkness because I knew that the dirt road was icy. 5 minutes after leaving, I saw a large bird crossing the road, entering the woods. I have seen ruffed grouse in the past at that location, but this one looked more like a pheasant. I stopped the car about 100 feet past the location where I saw the bird enter the woods. As I got out of the car, I saw him standing by the side of the road. I normally do not carry a shotgun in the car, but it just so happened that I sold the 20 Gauge shotgun that I keep at the cottage on the EE that very afternoon, and I had it in the trunk. So I opened the trunk, and started putting the gun together (it is a semi, and was disassembled and had a trigger guard on). All the while, I suspect that the bird will take off before I have an opportunity to take a shot. Once the gun was put together, I grabbed two shotshells, loaded the gun, and put on my blaze orange, which I keep in the trunk of the car. I walked over about 150 feet and saw no bird. As I am coming back towards the car, I spotted him in the woods, about 10 to 15 feet from the road, moving very slowly. It was indeed a male ring neck pheasant. I pointed the shotgun at his beak and pulled the trigger. He flipped on his back, flapping his wings and convulsing for about 15 seconds, and that was it. He will be "what is for dinner" next weekend. He weighed 2 3/4 pounds after field dressing.

The strange thing is that pheasants are not supposed to be found in the wild in Quebec, and certainly not in that part of Quebec. I know a local farmer whose farm is located about 5 km from where I shot the bird. Until two years ago, he had a few domesticated pheasants, and I remember him saying that some had escaped. If the one I found is one of those, it means that he somehow managed to survive two full winters in the wild.

For those who wonder, although uncommon, pheasants are a legal small game species in Quebec and are in season until December 31. Further, in Zone 10, shooting small game from a road is perfectly legal.

Anyways, I thought I would share the story.

Here are the pictures that were taken when I got home.

 

[looch]

Undoubtedly a released bird. Either someone is raising them nearby or there was an organized shoot - put and take or Roue du Roi.

 

[diemaco]

Beatiful birds eh? My buddy hit one with his truck and promptly called me. I thought he was just an idiot and he really hit a grouse. But when he described a pheasant to a tee, I got a little excited. There aren't really supposed to be many around here either.

 

[pacobillie]

Undoubtedly a released bird. Either someone is raising them nearby or there was an organized shoot - put and take or Roue du Roi.

That thought crossed my mind, but the ones that are used for those types of events are usually much smaller. We had a Roue du Roy at the Montreal Skeet Club last year and the birds were about the size of large grouse. This guy is a full size bird.

But I see your point, based upon that bird's survival instincts, or rather the lack thereof...

 

[gopherxs]

I see them around my bale stacks and in my tree rows every winter. If they can survive on our bald prairie at minus 40 I'm sure they can survive anywhere if they escape or are released from captivity.

 

[fishslinger]

You can tell thet that is a pen raised bird by its short tail if it was a wild bird and full size it would have longer tail fethers. I see this all the time with pen raised birds as the males fight each other in the pen and end up loosing thar long tail fethers.

 

[Suka]

Turn it's head sideways and check if you can see right through it's nostrils. Yes, hatchery, not, wild (at least that's the way we used to tell)

 

[lucky72]

You can tell thet that is a pen raised bird by its short tail if it was a wild bird and full size it would have longer tail fethers. I see this all the time with pen raised birds as the males fight each other in the pen and end up loosing thar long tail fethers.

agree.

 

[pacobillie]

Turn it's head sideways and check if you can see right through it's nostrils. Yes, hatchery, not, wild (at least that's the way we used to tell)

Well, since I shot the bird in the head from 15 feet away with 1 ounce of #7-½ shot, I doubt that the bird's nostrils will reveal any useful information, other than the fact that they took a beating;^)

BTW, I am pretty sure that you guys are correct and this bird was once a farm bird.

But next time I get one with its head intact, I will keep that in mind. I may go back there next weekend to see if this bird had "friends".

 

[the spank]

You can tell thet that is a pen raised bird by its short tail if it was a wild bird and full size it would have longer tail fethers. I see this all the time with pen raised birds as the males fight each other in the pen and end up loosing thar long tail fethers.

I worked on a pheasant hunting farm for a few seasons many years ago and yes pen raised birds have short tails but usually more as a result of them dragging around in the mud and pulling them loose. Good pen raised birds have shields known as "specs" installed through their nostrils that sit over the beaks to prevent them from fighting, pecking or pulling each others feathers off however you are right, they can and will pull each others feathers off.

 

[sjemac]

So I opened the trunk, and started putting the gun together (it is a semi, and was disassembled and had a trigger guard on). All the while, I suspect that the bird will take off before I have an opportunity to take a shot. Once the gun was put together, I grabbed two shotshells, loaded the gun, and put on my blaze orange, which I keep in the trunk of the car.

Difference in the story in AB is that we'd have the gun fully assembled, unloaded but with the action open and no trigger lock sitting on the seat beside us with a couple of shells rattling around in the cup holder. We'd step out in our Carhartts, pop a shell in and whack that bird in about 3 seconds. Blaze orange? For shooting a ditch parrot off the road?

JK. I know all about the ####tarded rules that the East imposes on hunters. I used to live there (but in a place that didn't have the same amount of ####tarded rules).

Congrats on the rare find. Make sure you do something special with it to truly commemorate the event.

 

[Highwind]

Nice bird... I've seen a few around central Ontario in places where you wouldn't expect to see pheasants. I assume that someone at some time attempted to raise them and they got away... Maybe one day I'll get to see them when I have my gun with me...