Native fruit bearing shrubs.

[huntsem]

I don't usually see recommendations of fruit bearing shrubs as being important for good pheasant habitat.

Back when there was a good population of wild pheasants in N.E. Ohio I found pheasants relied heavily on fruit bearing shrubs and trees for food and cover especially in the winter when most crops and fields were snow covered. I also found that pheasants often roosted in the branches of apple trees in overgrown apple orchards which I think offered good protection from ground and avian predators. The pheasants commonly ate apple fruit pulp and seeds too. When there wasn't snow on the ground I'd look for their peck marks in apples in these places as good evidence to know if there were pheasants in an area.

I wonder if native fruit bearing shrubs used to be more common before humans began to cultivate these areas and if these plants should be given more emphasis for developing wildlife habitat ?

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Native Shrubs of the Prairie
and Great Plains

http://www.gardening-for-wildlife.com/shrubs-of-the-prairie.html

 

[1GB]

I focused on a wide variety of mast bearing shrubs when I started planting thickets for cover on my land a few years ago for when the snow flattens the fields. I'm still waiting for maturation, so I can't really weigh in on how it's turned out just yet. Last year I had a 3 year old crabapple with a blossum, so this coming year I'm expecting my first turnout of small apples on a few trees.

So far I've planted the following mast-bearing species:
25x Siberian crabapple
25x Zumi crabapple
36x Sargent crabapple
25x Midwest crabapple
150x Red Oiser Dogwood
200x Silky Dogwood
25x Arrowood
25x Nannyberry
20x Saskatoon Serviceberry
25x American Plum
150x Ninebark
2x Washington Hawthorn

Naturally occurring I also have cockspur hawthorn, grey dogwood, silky dogwood, red osier dogwood, black elderberry, autumn olive, and black raspberry.

I've also planted quite a few conifers and some red oaks to complement my existing whites, but those were mainly kept in the small woodlot near my house where 80% of the trees have died in the last 5-6 years (white ash lost to Emerald Ash Borer )

I'm not sure what I'll be doing this year. I've working ~11 acres, 3-3.5 of which was wooded and the rest field/yard. Outside of the woods I've concentrated on making a thicket every 150 yards or so, ~.5 acres/.33 acres/.15 acres, and ~.4 acres. I've also got a variety of things coming up in addition to what I've planted, so at this point I really just need to be patient. Hopefully it turns out like I have it pictured in my head - thick and full of fruit!

 

[mnmthunting]

Woody plants and shrubs are a VERY important part of upland bird habitat. Especially Sharptails and pheasants.
Those days when there was a farm on every 80 or 160. Homesites all had a variety of fruit bearing trees. Stuff like crab apple, plums, apples, cherries etc. Lots of fence lines and all those shrubs growing in the protection of the fences. Like chokecherry, Juneberry, wild plum, wild rose thorn apple. Birds would perch on the posts, some seeds fall, and grow new bushes.
Add nesting and brood rearing areas and you have perfect pheasant and native bird habitat.:thumbsup:
There still are lots of areas like this, in good upland bird country. [except most of the homesites are gone]

 

[Freeborn]

Good observations. Last year I planted 900 Nanking Cherry's, 500 red Splender Crabapple, 500 American Plum, 700 White spruce and 20 common apple trees.

The trees are planted in either thickets or in windbreaks. I think fruit trees are a great addition to supporting pheasants through winter.

 

[huntsem]

Great work.

I wonder if pheasant biologists emphasize good shrub and low growing tree plantings for pheasants enough? In Ohio it seems that allot of emphasis is placed on big blue stem and switch grass and not much else?

In my area multiflora rose are heavily favored by pheasants late in the season though they tend to be invasive and not recommended to plant. Swamp rose is native and pheasants favor these late in the season. They are especially good because they usually grow next to wet areas with good late season cover like cattails. I suppose almost any native rose would be good for pheasants. I think rose hips supply high doses of certain nutrients.

Vibernum are also a native plant that is a favorite of pheasants but they tend to get picked pretty clean with the help from allot of song birds by the end of December.

I've noticed that juniper shrubs are native to western plains and wonder if they provide good winter food and cover for pheasants?

 

[mnmthunting]

Wild Rose are an important food source and escape areas for grouse and pheasants. Hard to get those roosters out of a good patch. Stands up to snow while the grass is flattened.
Are you guys familiar with Snowberry? Similar size plants and density as wild rose. Wild Raspberry is also common. The Snowberry has little white berries that stay on the plant until Spring. I've had Dec Roosters crops stuffed with snowberry's. Native grouse feed heavily on Snowberry. Another common bush in the West is Buffalo Berry, grows to 10-15 feet and very bushy, similar in appearance to Russian Olive except Buffalo Berry has red berries about the size of a pea. All seed eating birds feed heavily on the berries.

I think it's funny that many people mistake the native Buffalo Berry for the Russian Olive.
I was visiting with a DNR employee out in W ND. The subject of Rssian Olives came up. She pointed to the coulees in the distance, "said there's why we have to eradicate the Russian Olives"
I have been up and down the coulees many times, all the shrubs are Buffalo Berries. All I said is PLEASE study up on native plants.