Scouting your natural...

[growalot]

Forbes....I mention last year that I like to check what is new and or, now growing in abundance on our place...I use what I find as an indicator of preferred wild foods to keep around the place..and critter movement.

As a reference...I knave found a large expansion of May apples and elderberries ...these are two plants that spread by droppings and where I find big patches of them I find good deer and turkey sign . This year I have been pulling a lot of plantain out of the clover plots and then took the time to really look at the ground as I walked...I have an explosion of both the broad leaf and narrow English plantain growing here now... where ever I mower clover grows so I have large areas of a clover/ plantain mixes that I researched and found to not only be on deers list but turkey, rabbits,ground hogs,grouse,and crackles list of preferred foods....so seeing this is spread by droppings our place have become a very busy romping zone....that I have green road maps of movement I can follow....

 

Some areas if you can't fight the weeds....at least make sure they are working for you...

[phade]

One of the weaker links in my game is being able to identify native browse while walking through an area. When life slows down, I'll take an interest in it more keenly.

 

 

 

[Pav2704]

I as well, am not able to identify the native browse. Aside from the easy food sources like apples, acorns, and berries I wouldn't be able to tell if deer preferred it to something else. Definately something I need to learn more about!

[growalot]

I'm actually pretty good at it but I've spent years studying ...though I do have one clump grass that grows deep in the woods that the deer hit hard during deep snows and for the life of me can't figure out what it is...and this year walking the swamp I found a very interesting swamp grass that had three long panicals in a row dangling off 4ft long stems...this was very early in the season...a rather interesting find...which I haven't looked up yet......