Shrubs ... Maybe They Are The Unsung Hero

In the last blog I touched on the value of shrubs as a food source for White-tailed deer, I will continue on with the shrub theme this week. Dormant shrubs provide most of a deer's browse in the Winter months, especially in non-Ag areas. Shrubs also benefit other wildlife besides deer.

Shrubs go well beyond being beneficial for just deer. Shrubs when strategically planted can be a big boost to turkey populations. Obviously, turkeys will eat some of the berries produced by shrubs. However, research has shown that the base of a shrub is also a prime turkey nesting spot. We aren't talking about dense stands/ thickets of shrubs, but strategically located shrubs located next to prime brood rearing habitat. Large, dense patches of brush are not utilized by turkeys, not by deer either. Overhead woody cover provided by the shrub serves for protection from aerial predators, like hawks and owls, as well as providing shelter from the rain and excessive sun/heat. Recent studies have shown that hens that get wet from rain events while setting on a nest are predated by mammalian predators at a higher rate than those that choose a nest site that is sheltered to some extent from rain. Mammalian predation of hen turkeys on nests is the highest mortality factor affecting hen turkeys. Dead hen turkeys do not produce chicks, not this year, not next year! Those same shrubs also contribute to "wind turbulence" making detection of nests and even prey (fawns, turkeys, quail) harder for predators. Landscapes that have very little disruption of wind flow increase the of ability of a predator to use its olfactory sense to locate prey. Think about how much more sensitive a mammalian predators nose is compared to ours and how disruptions in air flow scatter scent over a wider area. Making it more difficult for the predator to pinpoint where the scent is originating from. Shrubs also give turkey poults a place to roost that is closer to the ground. Turkey poults can roost on low branches in as little as 2-3 weeks! A turkey poult roosting on a shrub's branches is far more likely to be out of reach of predators than one that has to roost on the ground. Newly hatched chicks of both quail and turkeys are extremely sensitive to environmental stresses as well. Lack of shade and exposure to rain can kill them unbelievably quick. Studies have shown that chicks that are stressed by heat or rain stop actively feeding. Chicks that don't feed die rapidly.

Turkey Nest in Shrub Cover

Bobwhite quail rely heavily on shrub cover as well. Both as a food source, a means of escaping predators and again shelter from environmental stresses. In the case of quail though, dense shrub plantings/thickets are preferred in many cases. Being much smaller than a grown turkey quail can navigate the bare ground underneath dense shrubs fairly easily.

There are a variety of shrub species that are commonly available from state conservation tree sales at a reasonable cost. Amongst those selections you should be able to find one or more varieties that can grow well on your land. Looking for some guidance in developing that plan for shrub plantings on your land? Click the button below!

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