Burn that switch grass.
- Thread starter moellermd
- Start date
OKIEGunner
New member
1) If you want a mixed stand of forbs, cool seasons and a "not so thick" stand of prairie grass...burn now thru mid-April
2) If you prefer a thick pure stand of switchgrass (or any of the native grasses) then burn late April to mid-May or even later.
As already noted, burning later is hard on ground nesting birds so burning a portion of your grass each year...rather then the whole thing would be best.
...everyone has different goals and each must decide what is most important.
For thickest rankest deer bedding cover...burn later, but if quail or pheasant cover and nesting are important then burning earlier will protect nesting birds and diversify your prairie grass stand.
My yards bigger than that! Plant more! See beagles above. Seriously, I can't imagine 1 acre supporting enough rabbits, deer, cotton rats, or anything else which could impact the shrubs that severely. Switch grass plot of that size is probably more useful as winter cover than nesting area anyway. Saw some study that indicated nesting success was a matter of acres per nest, rather than nests per acre, with quail it was between 2.5@ to 8@ per successful nest, and that was excellent habitat. I have not seen statistics for pheasants but suspect 75% of nesting occurs in alfalfa fields, as indicated by a Nebraska study, in the southern plains it's winter wheat. Switch makes good holding cover, brood cover, and emergency winter cover. At least that's the pitch by experts down here.
mnmthunting
Banned
It's only an acre, probably not much for bird nesting anyway.
Are there game birds using the acre now?
Those bunnies must have some good hiding places, wood piles old cars or machinery etc. Where I have bunnies I have old crap and stuff around.
Moe won't the burning burn the shrubs?
I don't know seems like in this case if you want to burn it burn it.
I sure don't like to see game bird nesting areas burned.
Are there game birds using the acre now?
Those bunnies must have some good hiding places, wood piles old cars or machinery etc. Where I have bunnies I have old crap and stuff around.
Moe won't the burning burn the shrubs?
I don't know
seems like in this case if you want to burn it burn it.I sure don't like to see game bird nesting areas burned.
moellermd
Super Moderator
Birds really do not nest in it as I burn it in the spring anyway in order to get new growth for the sheep to eat. It does provide some winter cover as long as there is not much snow other wise it blows in. Birds do like it as I see them in it a few times a week.
The shrubs are planted in rows that I till between for weed control. It would be nice to have the shrubs take off so I could plant some grass between the rows of shrubs and really have some winter cover.
There is probably just a few rabits in the grass so they would probably find a how some other place anyway.
I just pisses me off to see the shrubs get chewed off.
The shrubs are planted in rows that I till between for weed control. It would be nice to have the shrubs take off so I could plant some grass between the rows of shrubs and really have some winter cover.
There is probably just a few rabits in the grass so they would probably find a how some other place anyway.
I just pisses me off to see the shrubs get chewed off.