NEWS FLASH: Drought ends at Ponderosa

I have been asleep at the wheel, but while I was it was raining at the Ponderosa.
May 19th 0.80"
May 25th 2.50"
May 28th 0.80"
Jun 3rd 2.30"
Jun 5th 1.15"
Jun 6th 2.00"
YTD 12.20" which is way ahead of normal(annual rainfall is 17.50").
Pastures are green, weeds in the waste areas are going like crazy. Several pairs of quail around the farmstead. I can hear roosters crowing in the distance. Seeing a fair number of turkeys. Haven't seen any lesser prairie chicken yet. Whitetail deer numbers are decent. Too many coyotes, coons, skunks and badgers, but the cover is overwhelming so hopefully the cover will help protect the young.
The faucet could turn off without warning, but at the moment there is good subsoil moisture. Praise the Lord for the excellent moisture and I pray for a bountiful year for the critters.
 
Do you think that the rains with cool temps had any negative effects on early broods and nests? There were a couple of mornings here in the upper 40's with rain.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Do you think that the rains with cool temps had any negative effects on early broods and nests? There were a couple of mornings here in the upper 40's with rain.
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Not sure. I haven't seen any hatches yet of any of the Ponderosa's residents(pheasant, quail, turkey, lesser prairie chicken). Seeing a decent number of quail paired up. I am seeing the most cottontails that I have seen in many years.
 
Saw my first hatch of quail chicks last week, less than a week old and looked like double digits. The country on my route looks fantastic and green, custom harvest crews are chomping at the bit on the turn row looking for dry fields
 
ctfisher said:
Appreciate y'all keeping this thread alive. Hoping this rain means good things for the birds.
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Local KDWP biologist told me that those hatching chicks during the cold rain could have suffered loss. But it was a week before peak hatch. I think in the NW corner it dipped below 45. We had 2 mornings in the upper 40's but it stayed in the 50's and low 60's during the day. He did say we had good cover which helped during the cold spell. Just have to wait and see. Drought monitor looks good, except for a few counties in the NW corner.
 
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Been a wet 24 hours with a total of 3.00" It is really sloppy under foot and I don't dare drive off the service roads in the CRP in the UTV or I will drop out of sight. We had 1.50" overnight that came fairly slow leaving a few puddles, but not many. My farming operation changed to spraying cocklebur in the pasture and checked out the pasture and it looked perfect. I was hoping that I might see lesser prairie chicken during that tour, but nothing. Was getting equipment ready to spray when the first downpour occurred and then it cleared out and I thought maybe I can still get it done today when the second wave moved in so quickly. Another 1.50" from those downpours and now there is lots of puddles.
Last Friday I made a run to Healy to pick up seed at Sharp Brothers and the weather was brutal. Hot winds and blowing dust and I ran with headlights due to low visibility. There has been a good amount of ground that has been stripped to reduce the blowing.
Still haven't seen any hatches of anything the Ponderosa calls home(Rio turkey, pheasant, quail, lesser prairie chicken). Seeing a decent number of quail pairs, some roosters, some hens and gobblers and cottontails(never remember this many). Lots of cover so there could be plenty of birds I am not seeing. Will have to see what these downpours have done with any young hatches and nests. Hopefully in a few weeks I can report successful hatches.
On a side note this was a bad year for wheat streak mosaic so there will be failed acres that may be idle and some are planting milo in those acres. Wheat streak will take out an entire field, which has happen to me this year. It will be an interesting year for the critters of the area.
 
I’ve been hearing some good reports from a couple of my farmer friends out west. With decent carryover in many places from last year, and hopefully a good hatch this year, I have some optimism for the coming season.

Quail are looking pretty good in my AO.

We will see what the future holds.
 
Kansan said:
I’ve been hearing some good reports from a couple of my farmer friends out west. With decent carryover in many places from last year, and hopefully a good hatch this year, I have some optimism for the coming season.

Quail are looking pretty good in my AO.

We will see what the future holds.
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This brood looked to be 3 weeks old which would have had them hatch when it was cooler so I feel good about the hatch now. Maybe I can shoot 25-30 birds this year which would be the most I have shoot since 2008.
 
July 8th, 0.20" shower with nickel to golf ball size hail here at the Ponderosa. Didn't last long and not much wind, so I think most critters would have not been hurt. Finally saw a pheasant hatch and one hen on a nest, a couple quail hatches and several quail pairs. No turkey hatches or lesser prairie chicken at this time. A pair of twin fawns and their momma. Haven't seen any bucks in velvet. So much cover this year for the critters to hide.
16.40" YTD
In my travels- Ness, Lane, Scott, Finney, Gray, Clark, Ford and Hodgman counties I have found the crops to be outstanding. Irrigated corn and beans look good, dryland corn looks good (most corn in tassel stage), milo looks good and coming along. Only saw one small area where the corn was stripped by hail. I think this year will be decent for quail. I don't know about the pheasants- seems to be a rare sight here at the Ponderosa and really nothing along the roads. Time will tell.
 
Was woke up at 4AM with a blowing rain. It dumped 1.15" really quick and may not be over. This one might have hurt the young chicks and some nests. Anxious to see what it looks like when it dries out.
YTD 17.55", just above my 17.50" average at the Ponderosa.
 
Son in law a few miles north of Winfield texted awhile ago. Said they got 5" in less than an hour. I'd bet the water is really up there
 
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