Badgerfowl's habitat projects

[badgerfowl]

The renter cut the remainder of our field on monday so it should have plenty of time to recover before the opener and typical mid september frost. Cool temps this week with rain possible friday/saturday won't hurt.

 

[bueller]

Bow stand, although I suppose we could use it for rifle but we typically sit in our towers for that. I actually sat on the ground underneath a similar pine last year after thanksgiving and watched does/fawns dig through the snow for 2 hours.

There's nothing quite like sneaking into the woods with little more than a rifle and finding a spot to "become" part of the woods. Some of my most memorable, and productive, hunts have been done this way.

 

[dipper]

Badger have u ever considered native grass, instead of renting to a farmer?

 

[badgerfowl]

I've thought about it. I wouldn't do the entire thing in native grass, but I wouldn't mind seeing an acre or two of it. A majority of the field can and typically does flood every year. Would this have any effect on NWSG?

Renting cuts the taxes in half.

 

[badgerfowl]

There's nothing quite like sneaking into the woods with little more than a rifle and finding a spot to "become" part of the woods. Some of my most memorable, and productive, hunts have been done this way.

I was just out there for the hell of it basically. I had enough venison from my bow buck last year and was just happy watching the deer dig up what I had planted. In previous years, I'd of probably seen nothing with just clover planted or corn/beans already picked clean and tilled under. The brassicas kept the deer around even into winter, which is typically not the case. Usually you can walk around in January and not even cut a track.

 

[badgerfowl]

Here's an aerial of our place with some stand sites and plantings.

Bow stands are circles/ovals (paint drawing skills aren't good). Two red squares are gun towers. Green patches in field are brassica. Green patches in woods are clover. White line is only old survey/logging road on property. Red arrows are typically where deer come from. They are pretty random at best down there. Corn all around us this year. Brown in field is apple orchard.

 

[dipper]

I've thought about it. I wouldn't do the entire thing in native grass, but I wouldn't mind seeing an acre or two of it. A majority of the field can and typically does flood every year. Would this have any effect on NWSG?

Renting cuts the taxes in half.

I'm on my own with mine, so I'm not enrolled in crp. If it's heavy soil prone to flooding, I'd bet ud get top dollar. I would think land like that is priority in crp because the threat of loosing soil during floods.

 

[badgerfowl]

Our place is so flat, I don't think we lose any soil during wet periods, at least not from the field. The only place I see any kind of silting is in the slough on the north side of our property, but there's plenty of current in there as its an offshoot from the main channel of the Lemonweir River. When our field floods, its just due to the main channels and offshoots overflowing their banks and entering into old oxbows, potholes, marshes, etc and then those back up into our field eventually.

We aren't enrolled in anything, but the 40 that the field is part of is zoned Ag so taxes are minimal. The 40 to the east of us, which is purely recreational is taxed double basically.

Someday I'd like to take the SW quadrant of our field and make a kidney bean shaped pond or wetland scrape, surrounded by willows/poplars, and a block of nwsg in the very SW corner. This would leave an L shaped field of about 3-4 acres and it would be more insulated from the road. My poplar screens have helped with that somewhat but it's not a complete screen.

 

[wiscwhip]

I like the idea of NWSG in that area. If you also took a 30 yard wide strip across the whole south edge of the field, it could create a nice transition zone between the ag field and the edge of your property and a travel corridor for the deer to reach the plot in the southeast corner.

 

[badgerfowl]

I'd use it as a screen to get out of those stands in the evening as well. I left the weeds tall on the south side and mowed a walking trail through them. Getting out at night is almost impossible w/o spooking deer. I need to create a walking trail inside the woods on the north and west side too.

 

[wiscwhip]

Do you own the thin strip of woods that is shown within the blue boundary line or is that just where the line ended up on the map?

 

[badgerfowl]

I think we have a small piece, but it's minimal at best. I tried to get it as close as possible. It's not much. Probably not more than 10 feet.

 

[SD51555]

That stand looks like it's well shaded. Should help keep you hidden.

 

[badgerfowl]

That stand looks like it's well shaded. Should help keep you hidden.

Yup. It's in the NE corner of the field. On the aerial you can see there are a bunch of pines in that area. It's pretty dark in there.

 

[CrazyEd]

Great pics Jon! Any pics of the prairie spy? Did you see the one I posted in my thread a week or so ago?

 

[badgerfowl]

Thanks! I'll see if I can find one when I get back to the office. It's still about the same as last year, for w/e reason. The HGG right next to it is in a similar position. I'm thinking I just have too big of a piece of plastic around them. That's the only thing I can think of. Everything else in that row is growing fine.

 

[badgerfowl]

I believe this is the Prairie Spy. It had one apple on it that I picked off about a month ago or so. This and the HGG next to it were planted at the same time and both are this size. The weeds were cleared off in June but I'll probably leave these for some shade this winter. Just have to button up the window screen before too long.

 

[CrazyEd]

Hmm, yea it just doesnt seem to be doing much above ground. I would be curious to hear if reducing the size of the plastic or moving it (if thats an option) would make any difference.

 

[badgerfowl]

I plan on replacing it with lumite next spring. Might even try and take it off this year yet, not that its going to grow anymore this year but just to let the soil breathe a bit if that's whats causing the lack of growth.

 

[badgerfowl]

Got a bag of urea down on some of the brassicas this afternoon. Got soaked but hopefully worth it. Deer are already hitting some of the June planted ones. If they keep it up they'll be gone by October.