Game Bird Habitat

[daleh]

Spring is about over and it is almost Summer. Things we should consider about habitat and our upland game. They need brooding and roosting cover more than a food plots right now. Food plots are great but if there is an area that has overgrown grassand orweeds. leave it alone. The bush hog is the one of the biggest nest killers in the summer

[Phil from Maine]

I have a nieghbor who was looking at my pheasant pen that told me of the same stories. He told me about mowing some fields ( which he did for work at the time ) and even though it was unknown to him. He had mowed over a few pheasant nests out west. He had looked back to see the hens chopped up and felt sick of it. He had also told me of this problem and gave up that job shortly afterwards. Now living up in back of me he made a quite a few nice comments about my pheasants. Anyways folks be carefull mowing those fields out there.

[daleh]

Habitat is looking good. the warm season grasses are growing and i hear birds calling all over the place.
The Sun Flowers in the dove fields are loving this hot dry weather
here is a recent pic

[SamPAhunter]

The area where I release my ringnecks is 2 old 8-15 acre farm fields. They do hay in part of the 15 acre one. But its only about 1/4 of the field. The rest is tall grasses and wild flowers. With bushes and tree lines. My ringnecks seem to do insanley well. And Im hoping to see hens with chicks next year from the birds I released this year. I just saw 4-5 birds the other night in the tall grass in the middle of the field. The rooster chicks are starting to get the red around the eye. Really makes me feel good to see my birds are still alive and thriving. But just a little ways up the trail I saw a skunk....note to self put a trap there this fall. And you are absoultely right about not bush hoggin or hay raking any fields that the birds are nesting. That along with predators has to be the top 2 reasons the gamebird populations are low anymore. Because back in the old days they used sycths and those gave the bird a chance to fly and the nest would be saved. Now even deer arent safe from harvest time.

[daleh]

Just be glad that some of the field is left out.
What really hurts birds is the no boarder, all of the field farming