View of Reeves pheasants (Syrmaticus reevesi), a male and four females, being raised at the Rogers State Game Farm (now Rogers Center) in Sherburne, New York in 1931. (Photo from the Rogers Center)

SHERBURNE - Rogers Center’s history is long and storied, rooted in the legends and lore of all kinds of animals. When it was founded in 1909 as the Sherburne Pheasant Farm, many game birds arrived at Rogers. By 1932, the Sherburne Game Farm was raising 280,000 pheasants and other birds each year!

In the 1970s pheasants once again found a home at the Rogers Environmental Education Center for public viewing and educational purposes. Now in 2024, pheasants will return to roost at Rogers Center once more.

“I have worked here for 16 years and I have heard the same question asked many times; why aren’t the pheasants here anymore,” said Bob Bundy, operations specialist for the DEC. “People always refer back to the same story of when they were kids coming here to Rogers and they

remember seeing pheasants. We collaborated with Reynolds Game Farm in Ithaca to bring them back to Rogers and construct a display pen. Reynolds is the last New York State operated pheasant farm. We figured that this opportunity would be beneficial to the public as well as

Reynolds Game Farm. Pheasants are the reason Rogers is here today.”

This project was made possible thanks to the collaboration between Rogers Center and the Department of Environment Conservation. The project is still in the beginning stages, so keep up to date on Rogers Center's social media to watch the story unfold. All food for feeding the pheasants can be purchased from the Friends of Rogers at the Visitor Center.

Friends of Rogers Environmental Education Center, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that offers environmental education programs for people of all ages and abilities. The Visitor Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

- Information from the Rogers Center