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Waterways
These water pathways are
usually dry and sustain flows of
moderate to heavy rains. They
need to be wide enough so
water won’t divert around them
and be protected from soil
erosion by permanent grass
cover.
Orchardgrass and brome work
well and some farmers are
having good luck with native
warm season grasses such as
switchgrass, big bluestem,
Indiangrass, and little bluestem.
Waterways provide excellent
cover throughout the year and
especially during nesting. Many
a gamebird has been flushed
from this natural cover.
Fence Rows
These provide excellent cover
for birds and small animals.
Fence rows which contain
continuous grasses, shrubs,
and trees are the best.
Research shows summer
counts of 28.5 birds per mile.
For herbaceous fence rows
only, 12.7 birds were found per
mile and for herbaceous fence
rows with scattered trees and
shrubs, 16.5 birds per mile were
found.
Fence rows can produce good
cover, food, perching, and
nesting, along with serving as
safe wildlife travel corridors
between areas of the farm.
If you want maximum benefits,
maintain two or three snags
(dead trees) per mile for cavity
nesters, plant a few vines or
shrubs that produce fruit, add
rock and brush piles, keep at
least a 10 ft. width, and, if you
have no snags, add nesting
boxes for bluebirds, tree
swallows, wrens, kestrels, and
flickers.
During the last two decades,
the practice of plowing fence to
fence has increased, making it
difficult for songbirds and
gamebirds to find adequate
habitat.
Wetlands
Wetlands are simply areas
that become saturated with
water for all or part of the
growing season.
