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Photo by P.J. Perea |
Turkey Gold Chufa: Turkeys dig it
Enhancing brood habitat for ground-nesting birds by creating brood strips can improve food availability for wild turkey poults and bobwhite quail chicks, and increase survival during the critical first few weeks of life. Good wild turkey and quail populations depend on it, and quality hunting depends on good reproduction.
We spend countless hours and lots of money planting food plots and planning improvements to attract wildlife.
Unfortunately, many plans miss an essential ingredient to ensure healthy bird populations — quality brood habitat. The better the habitat we provide for poults and chicks, the more adult turkeys and quail will survive. Predators find it tougher to prey on turkey and quail broods when the habitat provides good escape cover. Maintaining more acres of brood habitat widens the area predators have to search, reducing their success at finding tender morsels.
Techniques for success
Mowing, disking and prescribed fire are some of the techniques commonly used to improve conditions in fallow fields or in native grasses that are just too thick for hens with poults to use. Mowing and disking, when properly timed, decrease plant density, increase spots of bare ground and improve the insect population. When thick sod is reduced and patches of bare ground are created, it allows better access to insects for young birds, while maintaining protection from predators.
Fire should be applied to warm-season grass stands every three to five years. After a winter prescribed fire, heavy disking will reduce the ground cover and encourage the growth of forbs and desirable weeds.
For example, take a field of goldenrod or what some would describe as a weed patch, and mow a 10-yard strip around the edge to encourage lush vegetation providing food, visibility and easy walking for hens. Follow the mowing with light disking to reduce the thickness of the vegetation and make it possible for young birds to maneuver through. Mowing and disking can be done during the growing season but the timing of disking can be critical in determining the type of vegetation that responds to the disturbance. Brush-hogging and disking between late December and late March will encourage ragweed and associated species, providing a good food source and cover for quail. Mowing field edges can be repeated during growing season.
Plots and strips
Planting cereal grains in strips also can provide broods with food and cover. Take a 10-acre field, divide it into thirds and plant a third in annuals such as buckwheat, wheat, oats, grain sorghum, or even corn. Plant another third of the field in a legume mix, and allow the remaining third to remain fallow or plant it in warm-season grasses and forbs. Manage the fallow section or warm-season grass section by mowing, burning or disking and rotate the crops in the annual planting section.
Borders around crop fields or hay fields are great for broods too. Any kind of mowing or light disking or disturbance in an orchard, vineyard or between rows of planted trees is another good approach to improving brood habitat. This can be done in Christmas tree farms, planted pines or even a tree nursery. — Dennis Daniel, NWTF Mid-South director of conservation operations