DRIPPING WILDLIFE: SURVIVING THE DROUGHT
With creek beds laid bare by the drought, their white rock bottoms glaring in the sun, we were reminded by our velvet buck Drip Pic of the Week that all Dripping life is desperately in need of water. Helping us fulfill our promise to provide more coverage of our native Dripping wildlife, biologist Mark Gray of Plateau Land & Wildlife Management here in Dripping, provides a couple of tips for giving our wildlife a water assist.
The physical toll of the drought is being felt as severely, if not more so, by our Hill Country wildlife. While we may have sweltered in the heat this summer, we could also retreat to the cool of our homes, turn on a faucet, and enjoy a life-sustaining drink of water. But that’s not the case for the songbirds and turkey, deer and rabbits that play such a huge part of why we still love this hot place. An excellent way to fill in the rain gap for our wildlife, while Mother Nature plays hard to get, is the addition of an alternate water source.
Designs for water sources range from simple (galvanized tub) to sophisticated (roofed and framed wildlife rainwater collection systems). Costs range as well but, ultimately, success is determined by your enthusiasm and creativity. To help you get started, here are two considerations:
Put yourself in their paws. Providing water for wildlife is not like providing water for livestock. For little legs, getting a drink from a stock-tank, for example, may prove impossible or even fatal if it has not been modified for safety. Make a ramp with rocks stacked around the perimeter for access, and in a stair step fashion against the inside walls for an escape route.
Location, location, location. Avoid placing your water source directly under trees or shrubs. Twigs and leaves will rapidly accumulate in your water source and require frequent cleaning. Also, stay away from areas of high human activity.
When it comes to the drought, we’re all in this together and, with a little help, whether two legs or four, we’ll all come out the other side.
Mark Gray is a Senior Wildlife Biologist with Plateau Land & Wildlife Management. Plateau is headquartered in Dripping Springs and serves the entire Hill Country. Call (512) 894-3479 or visit plateauwildlife.com for information about wildlife management plans and more ways to improve your greatest asset, your land.
Photograph, above, of a Plateau wildlife rainwater collection system.
Designs for water sources range from simple (galvanized tub) to sophisticated (roofed and framed wildlife rainwater collection systems). Costs range as well but, ultimately, success is determined by your enthusiasm and creativity. To help you get started, here are two considerations:
Put yourself in their paws. Providing water for wildlife is not like providing water for livestock. For little legs, getting a drink from a stock-tank, for example, may prove impossible or even fatal if it has not been modified for safety. Make a ramp with rocks stacked around the perimeter for access, and in a stair step fashion against the inside walls for an escape route.
Location, location, location. Avoid placing your water source directly under trees or shrubs. Twigs and leaves will rapidly accumulate in your water source and require frequent cleaning. Also, stay away from areas of high human activity.
When it comes to the drought, we’re all in this together and, with a little help, whether two legs or four, we’ll all come out the other side.
Mark Gray is a Senior Wildlife Biologist with Plateau Land & Wildlife Management. Plateau is headquartered in Dripping Springs and serves the entire Hill Country. Call (512) 894-3479 or visit plateauwildlife.com for information about wildlife management plans and more ways to improve your greatest asset, your land.
Photograph, above, of a Plateau wildlife rainwater collection system.
Posted by DSBabble.com at Wednesday, September 02, 2009 8:25 PM 
Categories: dripping wildlife
Tags: wildlife drought dripping springs wildlife rainwater collection system plateau land and wildlife management
Categories: dripping wildlife
Tags: wildlife drought dripping springs wildlife rainwater collection system plateau land and wildlife management
Excellent idea. Thanks for making this part of the weekly read.
We have also noticed an increase in animal activity along our back roads during this drought. Especially during the early mornings, and evenings. Try to remember, to slow down a little more than usual, and enjoy the encounter. Searching for water is a full time job for our local wildlife.
Our roads, will cross, their roads.
Thank you.
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