Drought versus Timely Percipitation

Califelkslayer · Apr 30, 2012

No biology degree here, just wanted to share a thought.

And my thought is just about horn growth and upland birds nesting and success.

IMO it doesn't matter HOW much rain/snow we get as much as it matters WHEN.

This winter was extremely dry, nothing in December and January. But the bitter brush around my house is beginning to bloom. In true drought years, the bitter brush gets no yellow flowers on it. This year the buds are all over the plants. And plants only bloom if they are doing good, right? The flower is a by product. And everything is green. Last week we got about 30 hours of straight rain and I swear you could actually watch the grass grow.

If the rain stops I realize the deer will be eating dried grass/plants by mid June which will lack in nutriention thus affect horn growth. And fawns will grow slower making them more susiptible to a bad winter next year.

But if we continue to get intermittent rain through May, and thunder showers through June, I believe the deer and upland game will be in better shape than if we had a record snowpack this year.

One other theory is extreme heat in June/July/August stunts horn growth. I never thought about this much until my Dad had a muzzy elk tag in utah a couple of years ago. I mentioned to his guide that the horn growth must be off the hook this year based on all of the moisture. His reply was that the elk had great racks through their 4th but that the tops didn't finish well. When I asked why he said it was because of the 100+ temps in July and August that year and explained that elk won't move (feed) much when it's that hot which affect their horn growth. And I saw that in several bulls. The high temps probably also affect the quality of the feed.

Your thoughts? Or is this even worthy of conversation?

BigSurArcher · Apr 30, 2012

I think you hit it on the head. I'm currently working on a Bachelor's Degree in Conservation with a minor in Biology. In my opinion, an animals growing rack is dependent on available nutrients during the growing months, not the height of the water table... Furthermore, available nutrients are dependent on moisture near the surface, not the height of the water table. A good rain in May would be great for forage and horn growth even if it isn't enough to keep aquifers charged deep into the summer months. The bucks I hunt tend to shed their velvet around July 20th, so I will be optimistic if we can get a decent drizzle in May and then a few bouts of dense fog in June. IMO this would make up for the lack of moisture during the winter.

www.bowhuntingetc.blogspot.com

tuleelk · May 1, 2012

You also have to keep in mind the condition of animals going into winter. I believe this plays a huge role in their survival and the survival of fawns. One biologist I use to work with who studied deer for 30 years believed the amount of rainfall in October played a big part in the condition of the deer over winter. That rain started green grass and forbs (cool season variety) that the deer ate. He had several other reasons but I can not remember them all. If the deer went into winter with good weight and fat then the fawns were larger at birth and had a higher survival rate. If they went into winter in poor condition the fawns would be smaller and had a lower survival rate. Many animals in poor condition (through the winter) will be putting resources into making up for that in the spring putting resources into body maintenance. Timing of rainfall is important and how it is spaced out. Get rain too late in the spring and many of the grasses have already turned brown, would not matter how much water you dumped on them, they are done growing. So many different factors to consider and how they all interact. Timing and duratation of rain play a very large part. Too much rain or a hail storm can destroy nests, or a late spring cold spell.
One thing I have noticed with elk in a fenced enclosure down in Kern County is that even with very little rainfall and poor conditions they elk still managed to put on decent racks. Could they have been bigger with better conditions, most likely, but still nice racks.

Joe

Califelkslayer · May 2, 2012

I agree with the fall green up theory too.

Fall 2010 was fantastic here, rains in Sept and Oct. 2011, nothing. Snow in November started green up but it all died when we got 0 moisture for 2 months.

I disagree with once the grass dies, no matter how much water won't make a difference. Some seeds that didn't germinate originally, will germinate later. It may not to as much as the first "sprout" but it provides green grass.

The spring freeze is varible IMO. If believe that if it's a continious, cool, wet spring, a late freeze doesn't matter much. But if it's warm and dry, I believe it's detrimental to upland game. WHY? Maybe because during the wet, cool spring the birds put off nesting. Or the conditions are so good and the birds in great physical shape, they nest again immediately.

A freeze after a warm, dry spring probably kills lots of nests and the birds aren't in as good a shape.