When we first bought our property, most of it was fenced off as hay pastures.
The live oaks were covered in sticker vines and poison ivy. We have taken down
all but the back fence, and have converted the land from open space agricultural
use to wildlife management. This requires us to file a written management plan
with the Fayette County Appraisal District. In it, we identify the
wildlife species we are targeting, as well as which of the seven management
activity categories we have in place and the specific practices we are using.
Our current plan targets the following species: eastern
bluebirds, purple martins, mourning doves, rabbits, field sparrows, local/migratory
songbirds, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Among the management activities/practices we have in place are:
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Activity: Habitat Control
Practice: Range Enhancement
We have reseeded about 1/2 acre in the front of the property with native
prairie grasses. The most successful variety has been the Switchgrass.
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Activity: Provide Supplemental Water
Practice: Water Stream
When we moved the old house, we installed a water stream in front
of the cottage garden. This provides shallow drinking/bathing water
for birds and butterflies, and we also have a colony of frogs!
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Activities: Provide Shelters, Census Records and Predator
Control
Practice: Eastern Bluebird Nesting Boxes
We have seven bluebird nest boxes on the property. Each breeding pair
requires about a two-acre range. We keep census records to document
the nesting activity, and have (hopefully) made the boxes predator-proof
by setting them on posts with stovepipe (to discourage racoons from
climbing up) and metal screening (to discourage snakes from slithering
up). Click here to see our latest
census records.
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The bluebird parents are very calm ... it's not too
unusual to open the nest box and see mom on the nest.
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Like just about all birds, newly-hatched bluebirds are
frail little clumps of fuzz with a big yellow mouth!
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The young birds grow quickly. In about 3 weeks they have
their blue flight feathers and are ready to go explore the outside world.
As soon as the young have left, we have to remove the
old nest. Bluebirds will not reuse an old nest.
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