The current C.R.P. has converted over 1.2 million acres of cropland into permanent cover that is more secure for pheasant nesting. While more sign-up periods are scheduled with a state goal of over 5 million acres, the current level is already 30 percent larger than the peak average under the Soil Bank Program and represents 5 percent of the state's cropland. Pheasants are ground nesters, the nest itself being a small depression which the hen lines with grass, leaves and other pieces of plant material. As the eggs are layed, and later during the incubation process, the hen adds down, feathers and additional plant materials to complete the nest. Successful pheasant hunters are those who know where to locate the birds.
Pheasants are a lot like humans in that they live their lives on a fairly predictable basis.
When the hunter learns to read that schedule and interrupt the bird's pattern, he is on the road to putting pheasants on the table. Pheasants start their day by waking at roost sites, usually in waste areas of short to intermediate height grass or weeds where they spend the night. At first light they head for roadsides or similar areas where they can find gravel or other forms of grit. It is difficult to pin the birds down in cover during this time of the day when birds are moving from area to area. Hunters may be successful by hunting short-grass hillsides or pastures near roadsides where they can intercept birds traveling back and forth to their sources of grit.