Predators

[Miner44]

We hunted Saturday, opening day here in Nebraska and although the grass and cover seemed to be perfect, we didn't see a single bird, not even a hen, but saw tons of holes which we assume to be fox or badger or some other type of predator, what is the best way to rid the area of predators?

Also what are the best technics for re-establishing a population?

 

[wisturkeyhunter]

Call em, track em in snow, trap em, use dogs, lots of ways to hunt/kill predators. Doubt your going to kill enough to make a big difference but calling predators in the off season is fun and a worth while adventure imo.

 

[UGUIDE]

We hunted Saturday, opening day here in Nebraska and although the grass and cover seemed to be perfect, we didn't see a single bird, not even a hen, but saw tons of holes which we assume to be fox or badger or some other type of predator, what is the best way to rid the area of predators?

Also what are the best technics for re-establishing a population?

Miner, correct habitat is best way to re-establish population and is also solution for most predator problems.

Simple....just not easy.

 

[Miner44]

Miner, correct habitat is best way to re-establish population and is also solution for most predator problems.

Simple....just not easy.

Uguide May I PM you I would like to pick your brain on the best way to improve our hunting, I have read many of your posts and enjoy your ideas on the problems at hand.

Miner

 

[UGUIDE]

You sure could but I am not sure how effective I can be not knowing your local area.

Looks like PF has 4-5 Farm Bill Biologists that get paid by us to do the very thing you are asking about. You best bet to get change on the ground is to contact your local PF Biologist.

Contact info can be found here.

http://www.pheasantsforever.org/page/1/FarmBillBiologists.jsp

I work hand in hand with our local guy and he is excellent.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Miner, there are very few times in nature where predators make a significant impact on a population that has shown that it can thrive in an area. I suspect that there are other factors at work on the ground you hunt. It will generally be related to either habitat or weather events. Your first writeup doesn't give many insights to what the habitat on the ground is or what the habita in the area is. This makes it hard to help diagnose over the wire. I often find that many hunters don't really understand what constitutes "good" habitat for the species that they hunt. There is a fairly good thread on here discussing that very thing from about a year ago. Further, habitat doesn't stand still. It change over time. What may have been good a few years ago may well not be now. The predators that you think are in the area are generally not significant bird predators, more rodent predators. The fact that their numbers are supposedly high would indicate that the habitat is more favorable to rodents than gamebirds. My first inkling would be that there is excess thatch in the grasslands and a good burn would shift the balance more toward birds and away from rodents, shifting the predators to look for greener pastures. Nothing is mentioned about low successional food or brood-rearing habitat. It needs to be considered too. You need to look for the limiting factor in your area and spend your valuable time and $ attacking that problem.