Arizona Hunting Club & Outdoor Adventure Group

Arizona Hunting Tips -
Understanding Wildlife Energy Dynamics

Most hunters probably don't think much about the energy revolving around them in the forest that makes all of the endless food chains and wildlife habitats possible.

However, the next time you are sitting in a tree stand or ground blind wondering why you have not seen a bird, a squirrel or the big game animal in hours, please take a minute to analyze your area's surrounding for the following 5 types of energy needed to create an attractive wildlife environment:

1. Energy from the sun
2. Energy stored in nutrients in the earth's soil
3. Energy made possible by water
4. Energy stored in green plants
5. Energy gained and lost during the generation of heat

All living things on earth depend on the sun to beginning process that creates every basic food chain. Without the sun all things would perish. It is simple to understand that all plants depend on the sun's energy to create and store food in their various forms of vegetation.

In the summer time, animals seek heavy cover to protect them from the sun's heat, which causes their bodies to burn more energy than necessary. The opposite is true in winter. Animals seek out sunny spots that provide warmth and help animals conserve energy usually needed to keep them warm.

Fertile soil is very important to plant growth. In many areas, animals provide the best form of fertilizer. Animals love to eat green grass and tender forage. They return much of what they eat back to the earth in the form of droppings, which serve as a natural fertilizer for the next year's growing season.

The second best source of natural fertilizer is fire. Burn areas inject excessive amounts of nitrogen back into the earth's soil. Combined with new exposure to the sun, burn areas produce excellent growing conditions for vegetation that wildlife love to feed on. Hunters who keep track of 5 to 10-acre forest fire burn areas during the off-season are sure to find green grass and new forage that will attract animal herds for the next 1-3 years.

Aside from the sun, water is one of the most valuable resources in Arizona. Find the water, and you will usually find the animals. Water is the key to growing a wildlife buffet full of grasses, forbs and other types of forage that are rich in energy that animals need to survive.

Creek beds and drainages may be dry when you are scouting them, but more moisture is available in these areas throughout the year than other areas. Moisture creates more trees for cover and more lush goodies to eat than in the middle of a dry field. For example, oak trees in drainages will always produce more fruit (acorns) than oak trees in dry areas.

In addition, damp soil and the air above it is much cooler than dry soil and creates awesome conditions for bedding areas. Many hunters will walk through the woods during the hunting season and notice lots of grass available to eat, but no sign of animals. What they do not realize is that they are in an area of dried up brown grass which does not have much nutritional value, thus the wildlife herds are located in an area several miles away at a higher or lower location where the grass is greener due to more rainfall.

Heat is a very important concept in nature. Creating heat requires energy. Staying warm, moving to a new location, eating, drinking and any other activity requires energy. Like humans, animals do not like to burn energy unless it is absolutely necessary. The more energy a corridor requires to travel, the less likely an animal will be to use that pathway.

Expending heat is an important concept to utilize in hunting. In the summer elk and deer will find the heaviest cover possible to block out the sun's rays and keep their bodies cool. During the winter, heavy cover also blocks out another energy-sucking factor, the wind. Elk and deer will find pockets under trees with low-lying limbs and even holes they dig in the snow that will keep them out of they wind, but in direct sunlight to keep them warm.

Many wildlife management books also point out that many animals prefer large stands of trees that are the same height in the wintertime. An even tree top canopy causes the wind to flow along the tops of the trees and keeps the ground level air warmer. An uneven canopy causes the wind to swirl down to ground level and creates a wind chill that robs animals of valuable heat. The opposite is true during the summer time.

To sum things up, always consider the amount of energy that an animal needs to consume and/or conserve during the hunting seasons to survive. Also think about the amount of energy an animal will have to expend to get from one resource such as bedding areas to another area that has water. The perfect animal magnet will have everything they need to live within a very small travel area.

For example, finding a creek bed with standing pools of fresh water; green grass growing along the banks in open areas exposed to the sun; and cool, damp earth patches sprawling underneath heavy stands of thick cover that keeps the air chilled, will all add value to a location that would provide the perfect environment to hold animals in the summer when the air is still hot.

When combined, our seasoned hunting club members can account for more than 2,000 years of hunting knowledge and experience that we would be more than happy to pass onto to you.

If you have any questions regarding the content or strategies outlined on this page, please post them so that we can further explain complex topics that need additional clarification.

In the hunting world, there is no such thing as a dumb question.