Category: Quail Management

Control Exotic Grasses for Better Habitat

Landowners interested in bobwhite quail populations are familiar with common quail habitat improvement practices. However, many overlook the management or conversion of exotic grass pastures. The control of non-native pasture grasses is highly recommended for persons wanting to manage for bobwhite quail. So what can you do to help quail on your property?

Herbicides, unfortunately, provide the only effective method for the control of exotic grasses. Complete removal of non-native grasses is desired for providing the best possible quail habitat, but often times this may be impossible to achieve. Depending on the situation, the best approach may be to selectively treat the worst spots on a periodic basis to maintain the majority of the site in a useable condition for quail. Continue reading Control Exotic Grasses for Better Habitat

Habitat Management for Quail, Upland Game Birds

Bobwhite quail are the most popular and abundant quail found throughout the United States. Quail habitat is diverse, but they need suitable structure to exist. Both males and females of this species have mottled brownish backs and wings. Males have a white throat and face that distinguishes them from females, which have a buff-colored throat and forehead stripe. This quail is named after their call, which sounds like “bob-white.”

Ideal quail habitat consists of mixed brush and grassland plant communities. Brushy range land mixed with bunch grasses such as big bluestem, little bluestem, and Indiangrass seem to be preferred habitat. In the eastern portions of the quail’s range, pine or oak savannah and coastal prairie make great habitat, especially when these areas are burned on 3 to 5 year rotation. Proper livestock grazing and brush management are great habitat management tools that can be used to maintain excellent habitat for quail. Continue reading Habitat Management for Quail, Upland Game Birds

Texas Quail Hunting is About Timing

Quail hunting is really fun when the birds are thick coming off a good nesting season, but it can be downright challenging when there are few quail to be found. In December 2009, I had the opportunity to hunt quail on two South Texas ranches. My expectations were low because the 2009 nesting season was nearly a total bust because of historic heat and drought conditions throughout the state. This was a nesting season where few, if any birds were produced.

Since the majority of birds in a bobwhite hunter’s bag are typically hatch-year (young of the year; juvenile birds), I knew from the get-go that we would most likely find only a few coveys for our efforts. After a hard day of hunting with good dogs and expert guides and in areas of good quail habitat, we flushed five coveys. Later in the week, after a half-day hunt on another ranch, again in good habitat, we only moved two coveys! Continue reading Texas Quail Hunting is About Timing

Quail Management: Leave the Coyotes?

When it comes to quail management, proper techiniques for increasing quail populations includes predator control and habitat enhancment. However, on-going research suggests that coyotes may be beneficial to quail populations that thought in the past, at least if the preliminary results pan out. The research, which takes place in Texas, involves putting GPS tracking devices on raccoons and coyotes to find out information on their movement patterns.

To date, the study has found that female raccoons were limited to the riparian areas with dense undercover and tall trees. Quail do not inhabit such areas, so female raccoons are presumed innocent of the crime of eating and destroying quail nest. However, whether female raccons would venture into the grassland if coyotes were absent remains to be seen, because all coyotes would have to be removed to determine their response. Continue reading Quail Management: Leave the Coyotes?

Bobwhite Quail Habitat Management

Habitat management is the key to bobwhite quail management. To better understand strategies to improve quail and quail habitat, additional research is necessary. One project in South Texas has been taking place on Tanglehead grass. This species is a native grass that has been behaving much like an invasive exotic grass in Jim Hogg and Brooks counties during the past decade. It does provide usable nesting cover for quail, but poor foraging habitat for bobwhites. This falls in line with of the research on buffelgrass from previous quail research.

In this on-going quail management research, research found that a combined brush control treatment (herbicide followed with fire followed with roller-chopping) versus summer prescribed fire, were about equally effective, and have similar effects, on grassland birds in the coastal prairie region of South Texas. Continue reading Bobwhite Quail Habitat Management

Quail and Prairie Restoration Make Front Page

Quail restoration requires habitat management 

A great story about restoring coastal prairie for bobwhite quail and other grassland species made it’s way onto the front page of the Houston Chronicle over the weekend thanks Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The story profiled Jim Willis, WW Ranch owner and founder of the Wildlife Habitat Federation, a wildlife co-op involving multiple landowners. The project shows how restoring native grasses aids not only quail, but dozens of other grassland wildlife species, including the most endangered bird in Texas, the Attwater’s greater prairie chicken.

The landowner federation is creating a seven mile long corridor connecting restored habitat on the 224-acre WW Ranch with the 10,000 acre Attwater’s Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, which offers prime habitat for quail and other species. For these reasons, the project is being upheld as a model effort, drawing diverse support from groups like Audubon Texas, Sand County Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many others. We can only hope that restoring native habitat and quail management really catches on in Texas.

Trans-Pecos Texas Quail Symposium Set for Odessa

Blue quail in Texas

Have you got quail on the mind? Well, I have good news then! The Texas Quail Study Group will meet in Odessa on October 2-3 at the MCM Grande Hotel. The symposium is open to anyone interested in quail management. This year’s theme is Desert Quail Management, said Dr. Dale Rollins, Texas AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist at San Angelo.

“Texas is one of only three states that can claim four species of quail, and this year’s meeting will address each of them,” Rollins said. The first day will have presentations on each of the four species and common sense approaches to managing their habitat. The second day will feature a tour of the Railway Ranch west of Odessa to inspect various management strategies.

“The secret is out about the quality of blue quail hunting in West Texas,” Rollins said. “Several national outdoor magazines and television shows have featured blue quail hunting recently. Hunting blues is considerably different than the more traditional bobwhite, and all of a sudden blue quail hunting is in vogue.” Continue reading Trans-Pecos Texas Quail Symposium Set for Odessa