Loribelle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6293
posted
Hey Labrat, I saw something on the local news tonight that made me think of you and your Most Powerful
In Milan, Illinois (about a hundred miles from us) there is a 'flooded forest' that contains the largest night nest of Eagles in North America. There are wildlife experts doing a study there now - they say it holds from 400-800 Eagles at night! The scientists go down to the (Mississippi) river before sunrise and count the birds as they wake and fly out.
Pretty cool since the use of DDT once had them near extinction!
Posts: 1149 | From southeast iowa | Registered: Sep 2004
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LabRat
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 78
posted
Boy! That would be something to see!
Pretty much have my fields in shape for planting, least half completely, half, could use a little more plowing. Fields haven't been touched in about three years due to health but I'm messing up the dirt now! We're planting for the wildlife and for our viewing pleasure. Farthest away I'm planting grazer, 6-8' tall for browsing and blocking view from road. Then a big block of corn and then closer in a block of black oil sunflower and closer in the special millet followed by peanuts and then Alfa. This coming fall we'll plant for the sand hill cranes.
The duck and deer are thick as fleas and I get tremendous pleasure watching of a morning, using our motor home as a deer blind. My most powerful is not so enthusiastic when she sees the deer flat foot it over the garden fence. They are becoming quite tame. Hoping to have a rice paddy / crawfish pond lined with cypress trees by this fall! Ya'll may want to come and see!
Posts: 1887 | From Corpus Christi, Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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Loribelle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6293
posted
Hey, that is great that you are planting for the cranes. I saw them down on Galveston Island, then followed them north to the Platte River in Nebraska, where large numbers stop on their way north in spring to nesting grounds.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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LabRat
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 78
posted
I don't know where they are but they are not in the middle Rio Grand Valley this year. Morning and evening they use to fill the air. Only a hand full now.
Posts: 1887 | From Corpus Christi, Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
Uh oh. Wondering if west nile is affecting cranes too. It hits a lot of other bird species. Hoping maybe they just found someplace else this year. Yikes. Think maybe I will try to contact someone at the visitor center on Platte River in the spring to see if they notice a difference this year.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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LabRat
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 78
posted
That has been a concern and two years ago I was sure we had a problem. However there was a simple explanation, as far as the ducks were concern, no food. Three years ago I had the heart attack and didn't go to the farm for a year. We have a lady caretaker and I had her invite the churches in the area to come and fish the ponds till they caught all the fish as I let the ponds dry out. The woman volunteered to fill the feeders so if we did come up there would be a show. After about a year I felt safe enough and we ventured to the farm and had almost no show. We discussed all the things that could be wrong and one day our feed bill came in and it was almost nothing. Checking back a couple of months and pretty much zip on food, plus most of the feeders weren't working so they stayed full all the time.
It goes back to, ``if you have to depend on someone else'', it won't get done. We had created a false environment that worked well as long as the feeders were full and throwing. When that broke down, thousands of hungry ducks had to scramble to keep from starving
My most powerful and my self take care of the feeders now and we are well on our way to another false environment. Each weekend we check and see how much left over grain we have lying around at the end of the day. If there is none, we turn all three feeders up a little.
It's a little at a time. I'm anxious to see the whole farm planted and what the results will be!
I think it would make headlines if we lost a bunch of sand hill cranes cause they hang close to the whoopers.
Posts: 1887 | From Corpus Christi, Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
Hope you are right and as soon as the dinner bell rings, cranes will return. Glad you are feeling well enough these days to attempt farm management.
Here is a website dealing with west nile and cranes, etc. Apparently the Patuxent wildlife people were working on a vaccine, however it is hard to see that working in a large wild population.
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sounds awesome!
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