Quick question

[MAB7799]

So I have a plot of private ground that has held a covey since I started hunting it back in 2002. The old farmer died a few years ago but the new one kept letting me hunt. Well this year they planted milo and I drove by it the other day and he had about 50 cows eating the silage. The hedgerow looked a little trampled but there are a decent number of cedars in this hedgerow.

So the question is, will having cattle in the area cause the birds to move? The cover is a bit trampled from what I saw but there are still some good patches. Across the road is CRP and plum thickets, where I have found them before. But 9/10 times they are in this 75 yard stretch of this hedge row which now has cows all over it. Do you think it will have an effect on them surviving? What experience do some of you have with the landowner putting cows on spots that always held birds.

Thanks

 

[Jet]

My guess is that they will be using the crp/plum thickets more and the hedgerow less but it all really depends on the degradation of the habitat. Assuming there is adequate cover close by they should survive but maybe not at the same numbers.