A CRP CP-33 “bobwhite buffer” containing little bluestem and broomsedge grasses mixed with wildflowers. The bluebird boxes mark the buffer edge for farming. We often place the boxes in pairs as one will usually be occupied by tree swallows who will not tolerate other swallows but will allow bluebirds to nest in the adjacent box.This is another buffer at a time when the coreopsis is in bloom. Our challenge is to keep the grasses from eliminating the flowers. We accomplish this by strip spraying the grass-specific herbicides to thin the grasses, thereby leaving the wildflowers unharmed.Native bumblebees on a purple coneflower which we use in our buffer strip mix. We often find “our bumbles” nesting in old mouse nests in sheds, barns and elsewhere on the farms.This buffer separates a farm field from woodland. This strip gets regular use by wild turkey broods who need the abundant insects found in the buffer.Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
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