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River Ranch Project
- Thread starter Kurt
- Start date
Congratulations!
Kurt
Well-Known Member
Been a nice winter in KS on the river. The lack of winter irrigation and lower winter water usage from Hays has allowed the river to fill up again. Have few beavers getting some dams established. Hoping it doesn't flood them away later this year. Kind of a pain losing some trees but the prospect of more water has me forgiving them.
I now figure I'll try to plant willow cuttings heavily up and down both sides. Perhaps that will allow them to use those more. Plus I think the deer could benefit from more winter browse. I was trying to order cuttings but noticed some heavy growths along a local creek so doing a bit of cutting there.
Once spring arrives, hoping that a few of the oaks from last year pulled through. Scaled back my oak planting this year to 4 English oaks. Going to plant a 50 cedar privacy/wind break in April. Perhaps a few acres of burning to help the quail a bit. And a new fence along the east side. Planted a test plot of switchgrass this winter and hoping for some moisture vs what happened last year. Spring and fresh hopes lol. Few recent pics. Tried to get rid of a few nest robbers in January as well.
Glad the site is fixed up. I love seeing what everyone is working on and it appears this is more user friendly.
I now figure I'll try to plant willow cuttings heavily up and down both sides. Perhaps that will allow them to use those more. Plus I think the deer could benefit from more winter browse. I was trying to order cuttings but noticed some heavy growths along a local creek so doing a bit of cutting there.
Once spring arrives, hoping that a few of the oaks from last year pulled through. Scaled back my oak planting this year to 4 English oaks. Going to plant a 50 cedar privacy/wind break in April. Perhaps a few acres of burning to help the quail a bit. And a new fence along the east side. Planted a test plot of switchgrass this winter and hoping for some moisture vs what happened last year. Spring and fresh hopes lol. Few recent pics. Tried to get rid of a few nest robbers in January as well.
Glad the site is fixed up. I love seeing what everyone is working on and it appears this is more user friendly.
KSQ2
Well-Known Member
In my experience, beavers hit willows hard, but if you can get them established, the beavers will keep them at browse level for you, willows are pretty tough. I'd have no problem with beavers at all, if they'd just leave our oaks alone!
They took out two producing burr oaks along the creek just this winter.
They took out two producing burr oaks along the creek just this winter.
Kurt
Well-Known Member
Pretty dry but needed to get out and work on something. Hauled out the mower and cut in possible burn lanes if conditions improve. Planted over 100 willow shoots. I did have the feeling while doing that that I may just be feeding my dam building buddy. But he is doing so well. Had 10 ducks and 4 geese on the river.
Then decided to mow out an acre "strut" zone where the turkeys seem to like to hang out. Hung a camera there and it took a day for them to show up.
I bought some nice loppers last year and decided to walk the river. Must have cut over 100 cedar trees under 1" diameter. I figure easier now than later. Passed a bunch of locusts that I could have lopped off but wanted to wait till I had spray with me. Did get 6 more gallons of yucca spray down. That'll help a lot.
I've got about an acre of ground that the game seems to love to travel on that is just 2" tall brome sod. Seriously considering doing a late fall spray on that to try and set the brome back and see what comes up from the seed bank. Course rain would be nice but trying to plan around the lack of that.
Had winds well north of 30 mph but my little camp tucked in the cedars held up well. Good couple of days.
Then decided to mow out an acre "strut" zone where the turkeys seem to like to hang out. Hung a camera there and it took a day for them to show up.
I bought some nice loppers last year and decided to walk the river. Must have cut over 100 cedar trees under 1" diameter. I figure easier now than later. Passed a bunch of locusts that I could have lopped off but wanted to wait till I had spray with me. Did get 6 more gallons of yucca spray down. That'll help a lot.
I've got about an acre of ground that the game seems to love to travel on that is just 2" tall brome sod. Seriously considering doing a late fall spray on that to try and set the brome back and see what comes up from the seed bank. Course rain would be nice but trying to plan around the lack of that.
Had winds well north of 30 mph but my little camp tucked in the cedars held up well. Good couple of days.
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Kurt
Well-Known Member
Good work weekend. I wanted to plant a cedar screening along my north fence so figured I'd start with 28 to see how drought resistant they are. If you hunt the north side of the place, there will be a dozen or more deer in the ag fields to the north. So if I can get these to grow, we can use them for a good screening to access on morning hunts. Planted some more along the bluff trying to get some spots to sit where the deer won't spot your head up there. This section is very dry and its going to take some rain. We'll see.
Found this turkey nest with 11 eggs in it. Saw several hens in the 35 acre pasture that we haven't grazed in 2 years. Hoping the coons don't locate it. It would just take a couple of successful nestings to really help the flock with this many eggs.
Daughter and I worked hard at clearing some cedars and cedar branches along the river. Still a lot left for bedding cover but now they can easy travel the river which I am hoping may also help with fawn survival if coyotes are chasing them.
Planted 8 oaks in a failed river bottom plot. That dirt was actually a little moist. I used weed barriers and cages on all 8. I think these have a chance at surviving. I'll be able to water if rain disappears again. My mowed turkey spot showing 0 green up so far.
Found this turkey nest with 11 eggs in it. Saw several hens in the 35 acre pasture that we haven't grazed in 2 years. Hoping the coons don't locate it. It would just take a couple of successful nestings to really help the flock with this many eggs.
Daughter and I worked hard at clearing some cedars and cedar branches along the river. Still a lot left for bedding cover but now they can easy travel the river which I am hoping may also help with fawn survival if coyotes are chasing them.
Planted 8 oaks in a failed river bottom plot. That dirt was actually a little moist. I used weed barriers and cages on all 8. I think these have a chance at surviving. I'll be able to water if rain disappears again. My mowed turkey spot showing 0 green up so far.
Kurt
Well-Known Member
Well it's been a couple of years since my last post. The epic drought in western KS during 23 and 24 wiped out all fresh plantings I had done. The deer continued to use the river and I increased my cedar thinning efforts. Last Sept or Oct, my rancher friend said he had a bucket of bur oak acorns for me. Those combined with some I picked up in the city park got float tested and refrigerated.
I decided to weed whack down 10 4' diameter circles along my south border and put 3-4 acorns in each spot. It was easy to spot these areas in the ungrazed field. Next I wondered around putting acorns in low spots along the river. Note to self, put flagging in each spot that is not weed whacked. I caged 3 of these guys 2 weeks ago and came back to find 14 more had poked up. Some along the river were very hard to find. All have been caged and watered. The great news is the farm has received 5" of rain since Easter this year. More in the forecast. If the bur oaks can make it a few years, literature seems to say they have the best odds. I'll keep trying and have plans to double the planting size this winter.
The last pic is under some cottonwoods. I have cut probably 100 cedars out of this thicket so far. Before you could see nothing but the tops of the cottonwoods from a distance. You could not walk through this are. I am leaving an outer layer of cedars for a windblock and screening cover. But the interior ones are now loosely stacked in the field and the quail were calling from that area this morning.
As the summer progresses I'll update on survival on the acorn grown bur oaks. I will remain patient on attempting to get oaks going.
I decided to weed whack down 10 4' diameter circles along my south border and put 3-4 acorns in each spot. It was easy to spot these areas in the ungrazed field. Next I wondered around putting acorns in low spots along the river. Note to self, put flagging in each spot that is not weed whacked. I caged 3 of these guys 2 weeks ago and came back to find 14 more had poked up. Some along the river were very hard to find. All have been caged and watered. The great news is the farm has received 5" of rain since Easter this year. More in the forecast. If the bur oaks can make it a few years, literature seems to say they have the best odds. I'll keep trying and have plans to double the planting size this winter.
The last pic is under some cottonwoods. I have cut probably 100 cedars out of this thicket so far. Before you could see nothing but the tops of the cottonwoods from a distance. You could not walk through this are. I am leaving an outer layer of cedars for a windblock and screening cover. But the interior ones are now loosely stacked in the field and the quail were calling from that area this morning.
As the summer progresses I'll update on survival on the acorn grown bur oaks. I will remain patient on attempting to get oaks going.
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Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
I was wondering how you are doing down there by the river? A couple years ago you got a real bruiser, or was it two? not all your pics are viewable anymore. How did you fare this past season and 2023?
Kurt
Well-Known Member
I think that was 2 years ago now. My daughter killed a nice buck this last Dec and my son got a nice one the year before. I think we are having some fawn recruitment issues due to very healthy coyote and bobcat populations. The drought actually dried the river totally up last year for the first time I think ever. This year they release water from Cedar Bluff and we have flowing water right now. Hopefully the rain continues to fall.
I did get a nice gobbler this spring. Really enjoyed that hunt.
I did get a nice gobbler this spring. Really enjoyed that hunt.
KSQ2
Well-Known Member
Cedar Bluff letting out water? That sounds VERY encouraging!
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
You should get serious about lowering your predator numbers. I think a thermal scope and a rabbit caller is probably the most effective way that I've seen yet to lower coyote populations. People say that you can't make any difference in their numbers, that your problem will only get worse, but I have observed the exact opposite, theirs entire townships where you can't even find one coyote anymore, and that's something that will last for a while.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
You are right MM, I don’t subscribe to the theory that the more you kill, the more you’ll have. Care to try that on your deer population ? I didn’t think so ! I had a lease for 18 years in Central Texas that had zero coyotes for the first 15 years. The does always raised twins to adult hood, save for a very few. We killed 16 to 20 does a year off that 1406 acre place and never put a dent in them. After a few coyotes moved in we started seeing does with one fawn in the fall. We tried calling them a couple times but to no avail. We didn’t have NV scopes at the time.
On another place I owned I trapped them hard for two winters and I could see a rise in fawns the following falls. I can’t remember how many I caught, but between them and bobcats it was several each year off the 217 acres. Before I started trapping them we killed several while deer or pig hunting each year too.
