Quail/Pheasant Management Calendar - 09/30/15 01:31 PM
I'll list each month with a brief description of activities you can perform and then a more detailed post of each afterward with helpful articles, videos, pictures, etc. Wildlife biologists (or anyone with knowledge) are more than welcome to chime in. I just put this out there for our local Pheasants Forever chapter in Nebraska. By no means am I an expert or suggesting such.
January - Edge feather wooded tree lines to create low growth cover for quail
February - Broadcast desirable seedings over snow/ground while ground is freezing and thawing to work the seed into the soil
March - Enhance native shrubs by killing competitive vegetation (particularly brome and fescue) in and around the shrubs. Do this with Glyphosate while shrubs are dormant.
April - Burn
May - Flash Graze stands of grass that are too thick with cool season grasses
June - Plants sorghum food plots
July - Hack n Squirt thinning of forest stands that are too dense and don't allow proper under growth
August - Flash Graze stands of grass that are too thick with warm season grasses
September - Prepare firebreaks for the next spring by either mowing or planting green firebreaks such as alfalfa or clover
October - Perform fall discing on habitat where grass is too thick. This encourages forbs, legumes and annual grass growth that is beneficial to quail populations
November - Glyphosate application on cool season grasses (brome and fescue) after desirable natives go dormant. (If I had to pick one single management practice to apply on my ground, this would be it!)
December - Establish open canopy areas in heavily forested areas to allow sunlight penetration and development of early succession undergrowth. A chainsaw and quart of Tordon can go a long way in helping your quail.
January - Edge feather wooded tree lines to create low growth cover for quail
February - Broadcast desirable seedings over snow/ground while ground is freezing and thawing to work the seed into the soil
March - Enhance native shrubs by killing competitive vegetation (particularly brome and fescue) in and around the shrubs. Do this with Glyphosate while shrubs are dormant.
April - Burn
May - Flash Graze stands of grass that are too thick with cool season grasses
June - Plants sorghum food plots
July - Hack n Squirt thinning of forest stands that are too dense and don't allow proper under growth
August - Flash Graze stands of grass that are too thick with warm season grasses
September - Prepare firebreaks for the next spring by either mowing or planting green firebreaks such as alfalfa or clover
October - Perform fall discing on habitat where grass is too thick. This encourages forbs, legumes and annual grass growth that is beneficial to quail populations
November - Glyphosate application on cool season grasses (brome and fescue) after desirable natives go dormant. (If I had to pick one single management practice to apply on my ground, this would be it!)
December - Establish open canopy areas in heavily forested areas to allow sunlight penetration and development of early succession undergrowth. A chainsaw and quart of Tordon can go a long way in helping your quail.