SECTION 1 - UNDERSTANDING LAND FEATURES
We’ll use a variety of different terms when explaining land features. Before you proceed further in this course, you’ll need to understand what each of these mean. Let’s go through them.
Transition or Edge - Any sort of change in habitat can be classified as a transition. A field edge for example is a transition from open terrain and timber. That’s an obvious one but others are more subtle such as a transition from hardwoods to pine thickets in the South. Water can also form a transition. The edge of a creek or river is a transition. Any place where open woods meet thicker cover is a transition.
Main Ridge - This is the primary high point in an area. Often there are other ridges that run off of the main ridge that we’ll refer to as secondary ridges.
Saddle - It’s exactly what it sounds like. The saddle is the lowest area between two points higher in elevation. These are great spots for game to travel from one side of the ridge to the other. It’s often the path of least resistance. These can be great spots to setup during the rut to catch bucks moving from one drainage to the next.
Bottom - The lowest land area. Usually has some sort of ditch, creek, or river system and often very inconsistent winds, especially in hilly terrain.
Wind Based Bedding
