Am I wasting my time ?

[McFarmer]

This pond hasn’t been dry since we sold the cows. A month ago I dug an area out that held water and now it’s dry. The DNR is draining the lake and the water table goes down with it. All the nearby water sources are dry.

Anyone have any experience with doing this ?

 

[lbills]

Ive seen similar setups here in Texas for quail. In my opinion, any dependable fresh water source is good for all wildlife.

The only change I’d suggest is putting some kind of overhead brush and wire screen to help minimize predation from raptors (hawks, eagles, owls, etc). Drive 4 t-posts in a large rectangle and run a smooth wire at the top of the posts to make the perimeter. Then secure chicken wire or a welded wire cattle panel on the smooth wire with zip ties or fencing wire. Then lay branches on top of the panel/chicken wire. It’ll give shade to minimize evaporation of the water and keep raptors from snatching pheasants and quail while they’re drinking.

 

[matto]

Most of what I read tells me that liquid water is not necessary for pheasants or bobwhites. The birds get enough moisture from dew, invertebrates, and green vegetation. My experience hunting western Kansas where they'd have to travel far every day if they needed water tells me that's probably true. There are rainwater collection devices ("guzzlers") on some CRP fields, but most seem to be old enough that they aren't functioning properly.

However, I'm sure there are benefits for other wildlife. It's also possible that a local population of birds that's habituated to having water available might suffer a little if it were suddenly gone.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Matto is on the right track. Especially in eastern Kansas, quail will function quite well on metabolic water and dew.

 

[McFarmer]

Cutting hay today I saw two hens fly to the trough that I set out. They drank and then walked of into the surrounding weeds. Maybe they didn’t have to, but they did.

I have seen many swallows use it, both barn and tree swallows.

 

[sdviking]

We have established all the right habitat to keep pheasants around except we lacked a consistent water source. We would have good pheasant numbers all spring and summer long but in the fall the numbers dropped significantly. We decided to spend $1000 and have an excavator dig us a small dug out/pound. At four feet he hit water, we ended up digging the hole 16 foot deep and the pond filled in within 24 hours. Now our pheasant number stay constant throughout the year. I think having a water source helps keep the pheasants around.