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LandscapingYour FarmFor Wildlife

Success in hunting on your farm is directlyrelated to how well you provide the basic elements

of a wildlife habitat – food, water, cover, andspace to raise young.

If you’ve done a good job, chances areyou will have a successful hunting season.

Five types of habitat occuron farms – grasslands,

wetlands, cropland, woodlands,and the farmstead.

A study shows that grass-lands support 7 to 11 speciesand up to 386 birds per acre.Wetlands support 13 nestingbird species and up to 702birds per acre. Corn andsoybean row crops support 2or 3 bird species and up to 88birds per acre.

Using a few simpletechniques for plantings andland management can enhancewildlife habitat on differentareas of your property whichcould dramatically improveyour next hunting season.

There are a number of cost-sharing programs availablefrom state and federalsources for conservationpractices.

Check with your NaturalResources ConservationService, Farm Service Agency,and state department ofnatural resources for details.

These agencies can alsoprovide a list of inexpensivesources for trees and shrubsused to enhance wildlifehabitat and improve soilconservation.

GrasslandsFollowing are some grassland

practices that you can use toenhance wildlife habitat onyour property:

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WaterwaysThese water pathways are

usually dry and sustain flows ofmoderate to heavy rains. Theyneed to be wide enough sowater won’t divert around themand be protected from soilerosion by permanent grasscover.

Orchardgrass and brome workwell and some farmers arehaving good luck with nativewarm season grasses such asswitchgrass, big bluestem,Indiangrass, and little bluestem.

Waterways provide excellentcover throughout the year andespecially during nesting. Manya gamebird has been flushedfrom this natural cover.

Fence RowsThese provide excellent cover

for birds and small animals.

Fence rows which containcontinuous grasses, shrubs,and trees are the best.Research shows summercounts of 28.5 birds per mile.

For herbaceous fence rowsonly, 12.7 birds were found permile and for herbaceous fencerows with scattered trees and

shrubs, 16.5 birds per mile werefound.

Fence rows can produce goodcover, food, perching, andnesting, along with serving assafe wildlife travel corridorsbetween areas of the farm.

If you want maximum benefits,maintain two or three snags(dead trees) per mile for cavitynesters, plant a few vines orshrubs that produce fruit, addrock and brush piles, keep atleast a 10 ft. width, and, if youhave no snags, add nestingboxes for bluebirds, treeswallows, wrens, kestrels, andflickers.

During the last two decades,the practice of plowing fence tofence has increased, making itdifficult for songbirds andgamebirds to find adequatehabitat.

WetlandsWetlands are simply areas

that become saturated withwater for all or part of thegrowing season.

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Following are some inlandwetland practices that willenhance wildlife populationsand boost hunting success.

Be sure to check your statewetlands regulations beforeimplementing any practices.

Buffer Strips and CorridorsOne of the most important

practices is to protect thewetlands from activities onsurrounding land such aslogging or cropland.

Maintain a buffer strip atleast 50 ft. wide around thewetlands. Do not mow or cutthe vegetation.

These strips can serve asfilters for reducing erosionand sedimentation, providevisual screening, and provideshade trees to maintaincooler water temperatures.Fence the area to keeplivestock outside.

These strips also serve astravel lanes and are sourcesof food and cover for wildlife,especially wetland and uplandspecies.

Planting desired wetlandvegetation to increase coverand food can be successful,but is often difficult if plantsare already established in thetarget planting site.

If you have cavity trees andsnags in your buffer strips,keep them, they are neededfor nesting.

If you want to make thesestrips especially attractive towildlife, encourage herbaceousfood plants and mast-producing (nuts) & fruit treesand shrubs. Dogwoods,winterberry, blueberries,viburnums, and elder are goodchoices.

If you can till on adjacentland, seed millet, buckwheat,sorghum, or corn and you willattract songbirds, grouse,

turkey, and possibly waterfowl.

Hunting near these areasusually produces good results.

MarshlandIf you are lucky enough to have

marshland on your property,protect it, as it is one of themost valuable natural assetson your farm.

It serves as a nutrient trapthat filters out herbicides,fertilizers, and soil that washesinto the marshland fromadjoining cropland. Usually youwill find an abundance of wildlife.

A good rule of thumb to followis for every acre of wetland onyour farm, provide two to fouracres of undisturbed adjacentgrassy nesting cover.

If you have no wetlands, youshould have five percent of yourfarm in permanent grassy cover.

PondsMost farmers prize their farm

ponds. Usual size ranges from

one-half to five acres, but theycan be larger.

If you want to host morewildlife, enhance the areaaround the pond with nativegrasses, shrubs, and trees.

Consider adding one or morenearby food plots or leaveseveral rows of unharvestedgrain nearest the pond. Also,add a wood duck nesting box.

If you are building a new pond,leave an island in the middle. Itprovides a safer nesting areafor ducks and geese.

If your livestock will use thepond for watering, run a pipefrom a submerged filter to atank below the dam.

Fence the pond to keep thelivestock from damaging thebanks and muddying the water.

Consider seeding the bankswith native grasses andwildflowers. What you will becreating is an oasis for manyspecies of wildlife from ducksand geese to gamebirds, deer,songbirds, fish, butterflies, andamphibians.

CroplandIf you are practicing good

conservation tillage on yourcropland to reduce soil erosion,chances are you have beneficialhabitat for wildlife, especiallyquail, pheasants, and songbirds.By maintaining the crop residue,you are furnishing both food

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and cover for some species. Thewaste grain and weed seeds arefood for wildlife during thewinter.

Crop RotationInstead of continuous

cropping, try rotating yourcrops. It will increase the healthof your plants and add plantdiversity.

By adding legumes to yourcropping program, you’ll add

nitrogen to the soil, reducefertilizer requirements, andprovide ideal wildlife nestingcover and food.

Also, delay mowing until afterthe peak of the nesting season– around July 15.

Untimely mowing will killnesting adults and destroytheir nests.

Strip CroppingAnother good conservation

practice is contour stripcropping.

Here row crops are planted instrips along the naturalcontour of the slope and nextto a grass strip. You’ve got botherosion control and plantdiversity.

The grass strips serve astravel lanes and nesting/roosting cover for wildlife.

Terraces planted to grass/legume mixtures also providefood, nesting/roosting coverand travel lanes.

Food PlotsOne of the most popular and

best ways to provide winterfood for wildlife is food plots.

Farm co-ops have anexcellent assortment ofgrasses and grains that can beused for wildlife food and cover.

They include millets,lespedezas, soybeans, grainsorghum, and legumes, plussunflowers, birdsfoot trefoil,

cowpeas, and crown vetch.

For maximum bird attraction,try the grain sorghum. Thetuber heads grow as long asthere is moisture – often untila killing frost. Then, when itripens, birds will have a feast.

Food plots should besheltered on the north andwest by natural features suchas wooded creek bottoms,wetlands, or wind-breaks, thatwill prevent drifting snow fromcovering the grain.

FarmsteadAnother excellent area for

wildlife is around abandonedfarmstead sites.

The trees, shrubs, grasses,and weeds found there arebeneficial to wildlife, especiallyold, mature trees with cavitiesand those that producequantities of nuts, fruits, andseeds.

Old buildings are used fornesting by barn swallows,

songbirds, barn owls, and asdens for rabbits, woodchucks,and raccoons.

If it is necessary to removethe old buildings, retain thetrees and shrubs. You may evenwant to plant additional nativetrees and shrubs such ascherry, hawthorn, and highbushberries, where the buildings were.

These farmstead sites arealso important habitat for

squirrels, flickers, robins, brownthrashers, sparrows, catbirds,crows, red-tailed hawks, woodducks, owls, finches, deer, bluejays, woodpeckers, chickadees,cedar waxwings, and blacksnakes.

This article was written byThomas D. Patrick, President

and Founder of the WindStar

Wildlife Institute, a national non-profit conservation organization

whose mission is to help

individuals and families establishor improve the wildlife habitat on

their properties.

For more information or for the

name of a Master Wildlife

Habitat Naturalist in your area,please contact:

WindStar Wildlife Institute

E-mail: wildlife@windstar.org

http://www.windstar.org