Wildlife Oak Trees Feed American Wildlife Animals and Game Birds

Bluejack Oak TreeOak acorns that quickly mature in the fall when
The blue coloring in the leaves of the Bluejack Oakwildlife food is scarce for birds, deer, and wildlife
Tree, Quercus incana gives its name. The Bluejackanimals.
Oak ranges from Virginia south to Florida andWhen used as a shade tree, a gardener can expect
westward to Texas. The mature tree can grow togrowth of 6 feet the first year that rapidly matures
50 feet, but usually is small, shrubby, and formsto shade the office or home. The elongated
thickets that give important shelter for many wildlifewillow-like seven inch leaves are toothed and colored
animals such as squirrels, foxes, deer, raccoons, anda lustrous green. During the fall the leaves turn yellow
game birds. The acorns are small and are eatenand then orange to give a pyramid-tree shade that
readily by wildlife animals and birds.becomes round at maturity. The Sawtooth Oak can
Chapman Oak Treealso be grown very successfully along city streets to
The Chapman Oak Tree,Quercus chapmanii grows asshade sidewalks, parks, recreational areas, and to
a native plant from the Carolinas south to Florida.purify the caustic fumes of diesel and gasoline
Although the Chapman Oak can grow to 50 feet., itengines.
is often smaller, even bushy and grows near sandTurkey Oak Tree
dunes and in poor soils of the south. White tailedThe Turkey Oak Tree, Quercus laevis is found
deer, squirrels, raccoons, and game birds eat thegrowing in ranges from Virginia south to Florida, and
acorns and birds use the trees as nesting sites. Thiswest to Texas as a native tree that is well adapted
tree thrives in the sandy soils of the south andto grow on poor soils and can be found growing in
appears to be salt water tolerant since it grows onassociation with Bluejack Oak and Post Oak Trees in
the sand dunes of the Gulf and Atlantic CoastLongleaf Pine Tree forests. The Turkey Oak Tree
beaches.usually is small when compared to other Oak trees
Gobbler Oak Treegrowing about 20-30 feet. The Turkey Oak Tree
The Gobbler Oak Tree, Quercus acutissima 'Gobbler'grows small acorns similar to Gobbler Oak Tree
was developed by a research group in Kentucky as aacorns that are voraciously eaten by turkey and
wildlife oak variety more suitable to the feeding ofmany other small wildlife game birds and small wildlife
turkey populations because only 150 acorns peranimals. The wood is used commercially as firewood
pound are are much smaller and easier to eat by theand only rarely as hardwood flooring when found as
turkey than the Sawtooth acorns that number aboutlarge Turkey Oak Trees.
50 acorns per pound. Large plantings of Gobbler OaksWhite Oak Tree
are made near wildlife hunting sites, because theThe White Oak Tree, Quercus alba, is one of the
trees can grow as fast as 6 feet per year andlargest Oak trees in native forests and is prized as
produce acorns as early as 2 years. The Gobbler Oakthe state tree in Illinois, Connecticut, and Maryland. A
quickly attract turkey populations on a repeatinglarge 84 ft tall and 4 feet in diameter White Oak has
annual visitation, not only by the turkey but otherbeen indexed in the Oak forests of Ohio, and has a
game wildlife animals who feed on the small acorns.life span of hundreds of years and appears to be
Sawtooth Oak Treevery resistant to insect and disease problems.
The Sawtooth Oak Tree, Quercus acutissimaThe acorns of the White Oak are eaten by deer,
'Sawtooth' was imported into American from Chinagame birds, and many other wildlife animals. The early
and has been extensively planted as a yard plant,American Indians made a variety of recipes from the
shade tree and as a plantation wildlife tree foracorns. The white bark is very attractive as a
feeding deer, game birds, squirrels, and many otherlandscape specimen tree, and the attractive inner
wildlife animals. The Sawtooth Oak offers manywood is choice for oak hardwood floors and for
beneficial landscape bonuses such as extremely fastfurniture manufacturing. The White Oak Trees grow
growth into a mature specimen in two or threebest on well drained soils and are widely adapted as a
seasons. The large oval shaped acorns can form innative forest tree throughout the United States, and
just two two after planting and appear to be theis the most common Oak tree in American forests.
favorite and most inexpensive food source forThis tree is salt water tolerant and forms a tap root,
wildlife food plot planters, because of then Sawtootheven in the juvenile stage of growth.