Edge Feathering and bedding areas

[dbltree]

I'm often asked how long before deer start using newly hinged areas...usually over night! When I work in a large area day after day however they often choose to move over the ridge where there is less commotion until I leave the area for a day or so. I was at the Iowa Deer Classic for 3 days and when I returned to the TSI job I have been working on for several weeks, the place literally exploded with deer as I rode the ATV in to work.

I could see them get up from the ridge tops and the snow was littered with tracks and I noticed a number of beds where I left off.

The screening alone makes them feel safe bedding and many still choose downed logs or branches

Plenty of shagbarks to drop in this project!

This is a funnel I have been working on for the landowner and it's working like a charm!

The ATV trail will become a funnel in itself as I block off runways that crossed it

Tracks littered the area where I had previously worked

Didn't seem to bother them to use this "tunnel" that I have to finish blocking off

When we combine the plethora of new bedding and browse with year around food sources on this farm the funnels will be a busy places this fall! :way:

 

[QDMAMAN]

The ATV trail will become a funnel in itself as I block off runways that crossed it

Paul,
Will that ATV trail be a designated hunter access trail as well?

Thanks!

 

[dbltree]

Will that ATV trail be a designated hunter access trail as well?

He will have several options to reach stands but that trail may be used as a walk in before daylight to reach one stand. After I'm done he will probably be changing some stands and approaches.

I have a situation much like this on my own farm that consists of a farm lane with funneled cross runway. I have to walk down the lane but this set up has been by far my most successful setup.

Deer will not be bedding in the "mess" you see in those pics so no worries about jumping deer. The thickly hinged trees screen deer and hunter both and rubber boots eliminate any scent problems.

Rutting bucks in this situation will be more likely to cross the trail as they follow the drainage but I suspect they will eventually use the main trail as well.

ATV's will not be used however...I'm just using it now to haul saws and gear in to work....

 

[dbltree]

Few more pics of the "mayhem" from a TSI (weed tree removal) project where I have been hinging everything but oaks, walnuts and trees above 14" with good form.

Looks like a mess to the forester...

but heaven to whitetails

Steep country

Some of the ridges are more open but these are not and will be a jungle of cover for a long time to come

Couple natural beds I ran across while working

They often choose pretty subtle backdrops

180 acres of TSI work so far this winter...thankful for a "rain day" to rest up a bit....

 

[letemgrow]

Boy you have been a busy man Paul!!

Do you have to treat anything with herbicides under that plan?

 

[Skully]

Looks great Paul! I have an appointment with Ray Lehn, our district forester in a couple weeks. He said he will help me mark some trees and give me some insight on my TSI plan. How does the cost share work when you do everything yourself? I am hoping to get something started this spring before I get consumed my turkey season! :way:

 

[dbltree]

Do you have to treat anything with herbicides under that plan?

We are treating some places with herbicide to encourage oak regeneration and any girdled trees but most of the hinged trees we are not treating.

Looks great Paul! I have an appointment with Ray Lehn, our district forester in a couple weeks. He said he will help me mark some trees and give me some insight on my TSI plan. How does the cost share work when you do everything yourself? I am hoping to get something started this spring before I get consumed my turkey season! :way:

Just make up a bill Troy...if it's done under REAP it's $160 an acre for TSI type projects so be sure to submit it for that amount, then they will send you a check for 75% ($120 an acre)

If it's EQIP/WHIP then it's just a straight payment per acre rather then a percentage. Ray is great to work with! :way:

 

[Skully]

Thanks Paul! :way:

 

[dbltree]

Ran across this naturally "hinged" elm last week

and this is what it looks like after growing sideways for who knows how long...safe to say a long while!

Every tree species is different and ash seems the most likely to send up pretty strong, stout sprouts either from the horizontal tree or stump and maple is pretty "lively" as well.

Most hinged trees however will not have anywhere near the canopy that they had when vertical yet still have enough to provide cover and browse. This allows them to remain alive yet not compete with neighboring crop trees and new oak regeneration.

I'll share pics of other species as i run across them to give you an idea what to expect after 2-4 years.

 

[dbltree]

This is natural oak regeneration at a farm I have been working on...

but you can see how heavily the young oaks are browsed

Two points here...oak regeneration is valuable for more then just regenerating oaks! Deer love to feed on the young oaks and as they grow they will use them for bedding cover.

The trick is to keep them from getting completely destroyed and hinging some weed trees into the young oaks helps protect them

Not always a lot to hinge in an oak stand

but every weed tree you can drop helps provide some screening and reduces canopy to encourage young oak regeneration.

 

[dbltree]

Edge Feathering

Typically timber edge feathering involves tipping over cull trees along the edge, into a field or meadow

and more of the same for 50-80' within the interior edge of the timber to block runways, create browse and screening

In many cases of course, the field edge is not ours, so dropping them in that direction is not an option. In this case we just reverse and tip them inward creating a funnel effect along the fence line

We still create a screening/blocking effect in that 50-80' path

In all cases we are still doing a form of Crop Tree Release as we leave the best oaks and walnuts standing while making a "mess" of the rest and...with cost share (EQIP/WHIP 647) getting paid to create great whitetail and quail habitat to boot... :way:

 

[dbltree]

Edge feathering and trail blocking

Some recent pics of how easy it is to block off multiple runways AND...screen deer from field activity.

This runway paralleled another so I blocked it off and funneled them to another (also funneled) runway

View of stand down the (now) main funneled runway..notice how heavily it's used

Barbed wire fence...lifted up to encourage them to use the main runway

Regrowth/sprouts from hinged and cut trees

Ash

Shingle oak

Locust - right, shingle oak left and behind

Hickory

Browse

Notice that in most cases the re-growth is "shrubby" and not in the form of canopy that typically interferes with oak regeneration. There may be little if any new sprouts along the horizontal tree although it varies by species and they tend to be short and stubby. Just right for browsing but in no way comparable to the canopy of a standing tree.

The trees pictured are 2-3 years after being hinged or cut....

 

[Trappertim]

Paul, how long have these trees been hinged in these pics that show this re-growth. I did some ash, locust, hackberry and hickorys this weekend.. do some sprout growth better than others? Thanks

 

[dbltree]

Paul, how long have these trees been hinged in these pics that show this re-growth. I did some ash, locust, hackberry and hickorys this weekend.. do some sprout growth better than others? Thanks

Most of those are 2-3 years and as the pictures show there is often significant difference in sprouting by species. More from ash less from hickories...

 

[dbltree]

Creating screens with a dozer

A friend of mine needed to increase the size of his food plot area which fortunately is already centrally located amidst a large area of cover. I suggested he have the dozer operator push the trees up into a screening/blocking formation rather then burying or burning it and he did just exactly that!

Screens are one of the most important yet often overlooked elements of our whitetail habitat program so we should never miss any opportunity to create one!

The effects of the dozer are not unlike the effects of timber edge feathering and immediately allow deer to feel safe and hidden in bedding areas beyond.

These same screens, done properly also allow us to block off multiple runways and force deer to use only those openings we permit and thus increasing the effectiveness of trail cam surveys along with more successful harvest opportunities.

This summer the area along the edge will explode with forbs and shrubs that will increase edge browse and further enhance the screening effect. in this case...well done! :way:

Regardless if you use a dozer, a chainsaw, a tree planter, a tiller or...all of the above...make or plant screens around your property , bedding and feeding areas and you will not only increase the odds of a mature buck living on your property but harvesting him as well....

 

[IQDM]

That looks awesome Paul! We also used an large equipment to do some screening this winter. We used an excavator to make a road around the outside edge of our property for accessing our stands without busting deer out to our neighbors. By keeping the most of our human activity on the outside of our property, we hope to keep the deer feeling safe on the inside.

We took all the debris from downed trees and brush and piled it on the inside of the roadway with the excavator so that our movements are somewhat hidden. We plan to go along and further block the view by hinging everything within 10yds of the road in a paralel manner. This will hopefully create a living brushpile and hide the road even more. :way:

It looks a little rough now, but once things dry up, we will be able to level it out a bit and plant a nice grass roadway to get to our stands and food plots.
Also, notice my neighbors stand on the right... Guess he won't be glassing into my property anymore!

 

[DE2IA]

Nice job.....looks like that road will work out well for your property.

 

[dbltree]

Here's an example of using cut trees for blocking in a narrow semi open area that is already a natural funnel. The area will be planted to clover and the sides blocked to force deer to use only a few runways where stands can be located.

A few scattered oaks were left standing...

I used the tractor and loader to push up trees into a natural "fence" along the edge

Small openings can easily be filled by hinging a few weed trees into the opening.

These areas will quickly explode with lush new growth, primarily blackberry and sumac that will provide both screening and browse

The long narrow area leads to other food sources but deer are far more likely to enter this very secluded and hidden area long before dark

Some edges we will edge feather during winter months, taking advantage of the plethora of cull/weed trees along the edge

These will be hinged and then pushed around parallel with the field to create even more blocking/funneling.

White clover will work perfectly in this area, the only crop able to withstand the heavy grazing that will occur here thanks to high deer densities, but also easy to maintain with occasional spraying and mowing.

Look over your aerial maps because you may find you have a spot where something similar might work for you and edge feather/blocking can be done along any field edge to provide screening, browse and a funneling effect. :way:

 

[dbltree]

These are summer time pics of Timber Edge Feathering done as recently as this past winter and you can see how the edge then explodes into a jungle of new browse that also provides a dense screen between the field edge and bedding areas within the timber.

It also creates an impenetrable "fence" or blocking effect that forces deer to use only one runway left open.

Blackberries are usually the first to fill the open area left when the trees are tipped over

Hinged trees further in help to funnel deer to one runway

This is one of those runways, coming through a small opening I plant to rye an clover every fall.

Again, hinged trees form a blocking effect that funnels deer out this runway

Funneling deer out one runway allows for more accurate trail cam surveys and gives us a better idea where to hunt an individual buck this fall...

 

[dbltree]

I read an article recently in which the author talked about "spring plots and fall plots"....really?? You really want deer to go to one field in the spring and a different field in the fall??

I want them to come to the same centralized feeding area YEAR AROUND and I want them to do that for generations until they are so adapted to doing so they ignore all other food sources around them. To do that one has to provide a myriad of food sources in that one field to keep deer fed all year long and that place should be as hidden as possible.

This is on my own farm...central, hidden, all runways funneled to one major runway, the timber has had TSI and radical hinging done to promote bedding close by...

It's a little difficult to see all that is involved here without further explanation, so this view shows the wide variety of food sources that do indeed keep deer fed year around and thereby keep them coming to this place, every day without fail....

Beyond the soybeans is a field of corn, only yards away but hidden by the finger of trees and several more small strip plots are also just out of site. There are hybrid oaks and chestnuts growing also within this hidden valley so quite literally ALL of their needs are provided within this relatively small area.

in order to feed a lot of deer year around i manage for high yielding crops and don't spare the horses when it comes to fertilizer and lime and the white clover component feeds dozens of deer every month of the year from garden sized strips of clover.

To squeeze the most out of every square foot, the soybeans will be overseeded with 100-150#'s of winter rye and 5-8#'s of forage radish in late August as the beans start to yellow and I will add 100-200#'s of urea just before a rain to spur lush growth just before season. When the beans are gone the rye and radish will remain and the rye will continue attracting and feeding deer until the following spring.

It's amazing how much feed can be produced within even a very small yet carefully managed area! Every square inch produces quality food sources at minimal cost, white clover is there all year long, brassicas July thru March, rye/oats/peas/radish and red clover combine to also provide a year around source of food....and deer know they can count on it!

The strip plotting concept by the way also fits nicely with the fact that deer are creatures of the edge and will follow the edge of two different food sources until they have a beaten path!

While this picture may seem a bit amusing, it is a fact that deer adapt to coming to these year around feeding places almost from birth...does lead them there and they lead their fawns there...

and bucks know where the feed and the girls are!

The entire wooded edge has been edge feathered and all other runways blocked by hinged or felled trees and an old farm lane and a single runway bisecting this central feeding area make for a death trap for whitetails in November.

My latest article in Quality Whitetails is called "Bottling Bucks" and shows this same area from an aerial perspective as well as sharing other bottlenecks I have created to funnel deer. If you are not a QDMA member and would like a copy of the article, shoot me an email and I'll be happy to send you a copy.

[email protected]

Incorporating funneling into and out of year around food sources is deadly effective...take a look at your aerial maps and give some thought on how you can make strip plotting and bottlenecks work for you....