landman
New member
There are certain revelations that occur when you own land that might not be apparent otherwise. One of those is the difference between the Macro and Micro view point of pheasant management. I've learned that those in the wildlife profession tend to look at, and study, pheasants in a Macro point-of-view. In otherwords they are looking at the total pheasant population in a very wide area and they tend to focus on nesting and winter habitat being key to supporting and retaining a healthy population overall.
In contrast the individual landowner seeks to find an area that supports good nesting habatat in the general area and seeks to develop the type of habitat on his own land where the birds wish to be during the hunting season.
So, if you want to have the very best hunting land then focus on finding an area with lots of grassland within about a two mile radius. It is more important to have grass on the neighbors land than it is to have it on your land. Finding an area next to a Wildlife Production area is almost ideal because you know its going to stay in grass for a long time.
Then get to work building a place that the birds will go to after the crops are harvested and the snow begins to fly. That means, switchgrass, big bluestem, food plots, cattail sloughs and short to medium sized trees and shrubs.
It is very important that you have the very best winter habitat in the immediate area. If you don't you may find yourself birdless in December.
Don't use last year as an example because the opposite occured due to the late harvest and unharvested corn over the winter. This is a very abnormal situation. The standing corn was the best cover available late season so the birds stayed there rather than moving into the normal winter cover. This situation will occur only in about one year out of 25.
Another factor is the time of year you typically hunt. If you only hunt the first or two weekends then all you need is some grass, fencelines and sloughs. But if you hunt all season long and really enjoy late season then buy some land and make it the best place to go when the crops come out and the snow flies. With that in mind start with trees, then food plots and followup with some wetland restoration for cattails and tall native grasses.
In contrast the individual landowner seeks to find an area that supports good nesting habatat in the general area and seeks to develop the type of habitat on his own land where the birds wish to be during the hunting season.
So, if you want to have the very best hunting land then focus on finding an area with lots of grassland within about a two mile radius. It is more important to have grass on the neighbors land than it is to have it on your land. Finding an area next to a Wildlife Production area is almost ideal because you know its going to stay in grass for a long time.
Then get to work building a place that the birds will go to after the crops are harvested and the snow begins to fly. That means, switchgrass, big bluestem, food plots, cattail sloughs and short to medium sized trees and shrubs.
It is very important that you have the very best winter habitat in the immediate area. If you don't you may find yourself birdless in December.
Don't use last year as an example because the opposite occured due to the late harvest and unharvested corn over the winter. This is a very abnormal situation. The standing corn was the best cover available late season so the birds stayed there rather than moving into the normal winter cover. This situation will occur only in about one year out of 25.
Another factor is the time of year you typically hunt. If you only hunt the first or two weekends then all you need is some grass, fencelines and sloughs. But if you hunt all season long and really enjoy late season then buy some land and make it the best place to go when the crops come out and the snow flies. With that in mind start with trees, then food plots and followup with some wetland restoration for cattails and tall native grasses.
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