Planning for the next waterfowl season begins with letting the water off of last year’s crops in order to dry out the ground. Getting soil samples ensures the right balance of fertilizer required for whatever the next crop will be. Ordering seed and balancing one’s budget are the next decisions, coming in quick succession. A repetition of planting is a gamekeeper’s friend when it comes to attracting migratory waterfowl, and learning to adjust those plans to the climate conditions each year is a learned skill that will pay dividends when it comes to ducks.
Tao Jiang
Ducks Unlimited’ s (DU) Chief Conservation Officer is Dr. Karen Waldrop, who served with the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission for 17 years prior to joining DU. “Science and telemetry is helping us to be able to understand where our ducks are coming from,” said Waldrop. “When you add in citizen science, such as the federal leg band program, it’s clear that waterfowl are some of the most studied birds out there on the landscape. Around 60-percent of North American waterfowl come from the Prairie Pothole region (including the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and the states of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa). It’s all about habitat and ducks are really good about coming back again and again to places they like.”
“For smaller landowners who want to plant to attract ducks, check on the private lands programs administered by the USDA,” said Waldrop. “Controlling water levels is important to welcoming waterfowl, and one tool for landowners is a Green Tree Reservoir. I also think working with neighboring properties for common goals can be helpful. Water is the key resource here, and some of what ducks like is already in the seed bank, but removing or controlling woody vegetation is always part of the equation.”
“This type of work doesn’t just benefit ducks since other wildlife will utilize good habitat, and in the bigger picture this produces water quality benefits too,” said Waldrop. “For larger scale projects, Ducks Unlimited has lots of surveyors and engineers on staff, and they can take any partnership project in any state full circle from start to finish. Just remember habitat, habitat, habitat when trying to create an area that creates site fidelity for ducks.”
Matthew Marbert is a wildlife biologist on the South Carolina State Committee for Ducks Unlimited, chairing their youth and education program. “Many people prefer to plant corn for waterfowl, but from what I’ve seen on the ground the ducks respond well to rice, chufa and millet,” said Marbert. “Did you know that chufa has the highest kilocalorie per gram? Plus, ducks just love to dig in the mud looking for a chufa tuber, so if they are happy, then I’ll be happy too.”
“Preparation begins by draining your field the best you can,” said Marbert. “The drier the better, and I apply a pre-emergent herbicide like Prowl to hold back the seed bank germination. Plow your dirt and get a good cut on it, which for me means going over it two or even three times. Chufa planting season is late April through late June. Chufa is actually a sedge, and it takes 120-days to grow. You can broadcast the chufa to plant it and then cover it with about one-inch of soil. And if using a planter use 30-inch rows with seed spaced 6-inches apart.”
“Rice is less of a mainstay here in South Carolina, compared to say Arkansas or Louisiana, but it is becoming more popular,” said Marbert. “Rice planting season is mid-April to June 1st, and the seeding rate is 100-pounds to the acre. If broadcasting, just cover it with one-inch of soil, and if using a grain drill set it for 70-pounds per acre. The seed imbibes water for germination and I’ll put out a pre-emergent herbicide like Command. And I pre-treat the area with 200-pounds to the acre of Urea.”
“Watch carefully, and when the plant grows to be 6 to 8 inches, or is in the four-leaf stage, then begin flooding it,” said Marbert. “If competitors like panic grass, barnyard grass or sesbania get going then I will set them back by applying 2,4-D or maybe Loyant if price point is not a concern. Rice is a grass and requires flooding during the 120-day growing period. But after it is grown, you can actually draw down your water to avoid getting cleaned out before duck season begins.”
“If you have ample rice planted, you might consider keeping some of it flooded even if it does get eaten up.” Said Marbert. “Why? Because an invertebrate bloom can also occur after 60 to 90-days which can bring more bang for your buck. Honestly, I don’t want all my seed offerings to be the same anyway, and I find that offering the ducks a blended crop works the best.”
“Chiwapa millet is another planting that I think highly of,” said Marbert. “It has a 120-day growing season but it has a sturdy stalk and a large seed head. I will mix this and the rice together, planting them in strips in the same field, because they both like their feet wet during the growing season.
Mossyoak
“Finally, I keep Japanese millet as an option in my back pocket each year, too,” said Marbert. “Why, because if I’m planting a swamp or a slew, planting Japanese millet is like pressing the “easy button.” And what if I have a crop failure? Japanese millet’s shorter 60-day growing season makes me feel like I’m going to be able to provide some food for the ducks, even when it might not be the original plan.”
“You need to plant multiple years in a row in order for the ducks to imprint and to build duck traffic,” said Marbert. “Because attracting ducks is a cumulative effect, requiring long-term efforts. In my opinion, site fidelity in winter is an under-rated trump card that you want to hold when migrating waterfowl approach. So you go from being a farmer, to being a wetlands manager, and if you’re lucky then you have to manage hunting pressure.” Navigating these transitions is the kind of challenge that gamekeepers welcome.
Jeff Dennis is a longtime outdoorsman. Read his blog at Lowcountry Outdoors.
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