HARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania pheasant hunters again will be getting a pleasant surprise for the season’s final weeks.
For the second consecutive year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will be releasing approximately 8,400 pheasants, mostly hens, to provide additional hunting recreation in the last two weeks of pheasant season, which runs through Feb. 28.
“The Game Commission purchases the pheasant chicks raised on our game farms from a private-sector supplier,” said Wildlife Operations Division Chief Ian Gregg. “During the 2024 and 2025 production seasons, we requested our supplier to raise additional pheasants to be held through the fall and early winter as an ‘insurance policy’ against any disease issues that might arise in the supplier’s primary breeder flocks. With flocks presently healthy, it’s not feasible to hold onto these ‘backup’ birds, which will be released to provide late-winter hunting opportunities.”
Releases are planned to occur during a two-day window next week, on Wednesday, Feb. 11 and Thursday, Feb. 12 at select locations in each of the Game Commission’s six regions. Hunters should be aware, however, that weather and logistical issues could result in last-minute changes to the planned schedule.
The locations expected to receive birds in the February stocking are as follows:
Northwest Region
- ·SGL 95 (Butler Co.)
- SGL 330 (Clarion Co.)
- Buzzard Swamp area, Allegheny National Forest (Forest Co.)
- Shenango Lake (Mercer Co.)
Southwest Region
- SGL 203 (Allegheny Co.)
- SGL 285 (Beaver Co.)
- Conemaugh Lake (Indiana Co.)
- SGLs 117, 232, 245, and 297; Cross Creek Park; Hillman State Park (Washington Co.)
- Loyalhanna Lake (Westmoreland Co.)
Northcentral Region
- SGL 333 (Centre Co.)
- SGL 87 (Clearfield Co.)
- SGLs 252 and 317 (Union Co.)
Southcentral Region
- SGL 249 (Adams Co.)
- SGLs 48 and 97 (Bedford Co.)
- SGL 169 (Cumberland Co.)
- SGL 124 (Franklin Co.)
- SGL 251; Raystown Lake (Huntingdon Co.)
- SGLs 258, 281, and 290 (Perry Co.)
- SGLs 188, 194, and 212 (Snyder Co.)
- SGLs 242 and 243 (York Co.)
Northeast Region
- SGLs 36, 123, 219, 250, and 289 (Bradford Co.)
- SGL 40 and Beltzville area (Carbon Co.)
- SGLs 226 and 329 (Columbia Co.)
- SGL 187 and Nescopeck State Park (Luzerne Co.)
- SGLs 84 and 165 (Northumberland Co.)
Southeast Region
- SGL 280/Blue Marsh (Berks Co.)
The Game Commission’s regular pheasant stocking schedule extends from early October to early January, with over 225,000 pheasants released during that period in 2025-26, and similar numbers planned for 2026-27.
“With a smaller number of pheasants being stocked this month compared to releases earlier in the season, a proportionally smaller number of sites are being stocked,” said Gregg. “This approach may require pheasant hunters to travel a bit farther to find birds, but will maintain logistical efficiency and allow stockings to be targeted to areas where mid-winter habitat and access conditions are most suitable.”
Gregg noted that none of the pheasants released this week will be leg-banded; however, hunters might harvest holdover banded birds from releases earlier in the season.
“We thank hunters for their cooperation in reporting over 2,600 banded pheasants this hunting season as part of our game farm pheasant harvest rate study, and we continue to welcome reports of any banded pheasants harvested late in the season. Also, for anyone who harvested a banded pheasant earlier in the season but hasn’t yet gotten around to reporting it, it is not too late to call the information in to the toll-free number on the band so that your data can be included in the analysis.”