Posts Tagged ‘bobwhite quail’
Virginia Wildlife, Forestry Agencies Team Up for Bobwhites
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
Virginia is stepping up its part in the overall national wild bobwhite quail restoration effort with an agreement between two state agencies to target pine forests in the state’s six “bobwhite focus areas” to create habitat for bobwhites and other wildlife, while improving commercial timber value.
The Virginia Department of Forestry, an original member of the Virginia Quail Council, is assisting the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, a member of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI), to identify interested private, non-industrial forest landowners in the 15 counties that comprise the state’s six quail focus areas to embrace forestry best management practices conducive to bobwhites. The practices include both pre-commercial and commercial thinning of pine stands, planting of shortleaf pine seedlings and the use of an approved herbicide in controlling hardwood undergrowth. Approved landowners can earn up to $10,000 in cost sharing for their participation.
While many think of bobwhite quail in an “agricultural” setting, open pine stands, or “savannahs,” have historically been productive locations for bobwhites — as well as rabbits, turkeys, deer and numerous other bird species. Thinning pine stands allows sunlight to reach the ground, which stimulates the growth of native vegetation quail need for food, raising their young and protection from predators. Shortleaf pine is a slow-growing species, so planting it helps keep the pine stand open longer, requiring less maintenance to preserve it as wildlife habitat.
Most farms in Virginia have more timberland than open farmland,” explained Marc Puckett, the state’s quail coordinator and chair of the National Bobwhite Technical Committee. “With commodity crop prices at all-time highs, landowners are now even less likely to devote that agricultural space to bobwhites. But their woodlands do provide a management option.
Virginia Pine Savannah. Photo by Mike Budd
“In addition, the management practices we’re supporting for quail in this project are actually good for timber health. So it’s a win for the landowner, a win for the timber and a win for wildlife. We’re fortunate to have a state forestry agency that recognizes and promotes these ideas. We hope the program will prove successful and develop long term support.”
Mike Black, forestry coordinator for the NBCI, enthusiastically endorses the Virginia effort, saying “There is no greater opportunity in the historic range of bobwhite quail for habitat restoration than the forested landscape, and reconnecting forests with quail is one of NBCI’s top priorities. We encourage state forestry entities in all 25 NBCI states to join in examining opportunities for wildlife habitat creation on both public and private forestlands in their respective states.”
Virginia’s bobwhite focus area counties where the landowner offer is valid include Bland, Wythe, Greensville, Southampton, Sussex, Culpeper, Greene, Madison, Orange, Rappahannock, Essex, King and Queen, King William, Halifax and Augusta.
The Virginia wildlife agency provides additional information about managing forests for wildlife:
Quail Forever is a conservation partner in the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI). Read more NBCI blog posts here.
Quail Habitat and Thorns in my Pants
Monday, March 11th, 2013
Photo by Nancy Anisfield / Anisfield Hunting Dog Photography
While attending a media gathering at Honey Lake Plantation in Greenville, Florida, a few weeks ago, I had one of those light bulb-going-off moments. Super specialists in brand management and marketing, The Keer Group had brought together several outdoor writers and publishers for a little hunting and fishing and a lot of brainstorming about conservation, wingshooting and the outdoor industry.
I was watching John Thames, publisher of the elegant new Covey Rise magazine, walking in towards two muscle-rippling English pointers frozen just off the tangled edge of who know what kind of nasty brambles. John’s eyes were glued to the English cocker who’d been sent in for the flush (well, as “glued” as you can be to a furry rocket zipping around no more than a foot off the ground). Within seconds, seven bob whites ripped into the sky in seven different directions. Picking one, John swung on it and down it came.
Walking back to the trail, I pinched some tiny but infinitely annoying thorns off my brush pants. Tom Keer and I talked about how miserable and annoying those brambles are to move through. Covey Rise associate publisher Kelly Waldrop joined us, and the conversation then turned to longleaf pines. Kelly has some longleafs at home, and he filled me in on how they spend a few years looking like nothing more than a clump, low to the ground, before shooting up like a proper tree. I asked some questions about the live oaks, then tripped over a vine that snagged my left boot.
That’s when I had the “ah-ha” moment. This was the normal chit-chat and familiar rhythm of a plantation hunt. But so much of what we were doing and saying was all about the habitat. Those ankle grabbing vines and thick thorny tangles provide safe cover for the birds. Those longleafs flourish with regular burning, and many wildlife species – including bobwhite quail – thrive in the high diversity of plants characteristic to the ground layer of the open pine forest. (Check out “Longleaf Revival” in the premier issue of Covey Rise.)
Our experience of the moment, walking and talking, and the simple fact of being there was rooted in the landscape around us. We didn’t need to intentionally focus our discussion on the declining quail population and challenges of improving habitat; we were inside the issue right then and there.
That made me even more eager than ever for Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic. Sure enough, at the habitat seminars and meetings in Minneapolis, I found myself doing a little mental time travel. Instead of listening with my peripheral vision taking in the meeting room or conference hall, I transported my mind’s eye to the Honey Lake woods, seeing the light filtering in through the longleafs, feeling the broomstraw against my legs and thinking really hard about those bobwhite quail and the habitat they need to succeed.
Nancy Anisfield, an outdoor photographer/writer, sporting dog enthusiast and bird hunter, serves on Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s National Board of Directors. She resides in Hinesburg, Vermont.
Landowner Guide to Estimating Bobwhite Quail Populations
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
Photo by Pete Berthelsen / Quail Forever
I undertake this topic with some trepidation. We discussed quail population management two blog posts ago and I hope I gave everyone a basic understanding of the dynamics involved within different levels of quail populations.
Of course, it’s hard to know how to manage a quail population without some knowledge of just how many coveys you have, or to carry it even further – what your quail density in birds per acre is. This discussion can quickly devolve into one that’s like trying to talk about tree density versus trees per acre versus basal area with a forester – none of it means anything to a landowner unless they can visualize what is being said. I struggle with how to best convey a practical method of quail population estimation suitable for the average landowner.
Several levels of population estimation need to be addressed:
1) You simply want to know if you have quail at all
2) You don’t plan to hunt your quail, but you would like to know if the habitat work you are doing is leading to a trend of increasing quail numbers and quail use of your land
3) You own a relatively small property (250 acres or less) and you would like to hunt it occasionally
4) You own a larger property and want to have an idea how many coveys you have and how many quail to can harvest annually
5) You manage a large quail plantation and it is critical to have a pre-hunt fall density estimate for your population.
We could come up with many more variations of these scenarios, but these will address most of your needs.
Case 1 – You simply want to know if you have quail
For the complete bobwhite quail novice, you first have to become familiar with their songs and calls. Go to the Cornell University Ornithology Lab’s website. Familiarize yourself with each of their calls. They’ll come in handy regardless of how intensely you want to get into population estimation. In case 1, you can determine if you have quail by listening for singing male bobwhites during June. They call well between sunrise and about 9:00 a.m. typically. Listening on days with nice, clear, still mornings is best.
Case 2 – Is your quail population trending in the right direction?
First, face some cold hard facts. If you own a small piece of land, perhaps less than 50 acres, maybe even 100 acres, there are only so many quail coveys you can pack into that area. It can vary based on what type of landscape your property exists in, but by-and-large once you reach a covey per 25 to 50 acres, you’ve done about as good as you are going to do. So if you started off with no quail, and you now have 2 coveys on 50 acres, you’ve done well. Your goal now is to manage and maintain the coveys you’ve developed.
The “June Call Count” is one way state wildlife agencies keep track of quail population trends over large areas (such as entire states). A “trend” gives no true estimate of quail density (coveys per unit of area, or quail per acre, etc.). A trend is an indicator of whether a population is increasing, decreasing or stable. For example, you purchase 1,000 acres of land and want to manage it for quail and other early-succession species. You’d like to track the population trend through time. This is relatively easy to do by setting up a June whistling male bobwhite call count. Get a good aerial photo of your property and set up listening points periodically in easily accessible areas. Try to keep the points at least 600 yards apart to avoid double counting (generally during summer a bobwhite song can be heard up to 250 – 300 yards).
Begin your count at sunrise on a good, still, clear morning. Listen for 5 minutes at each stop. Record the number of different males heard making the “bob, bob, white” call at each stop. It is best to run the route several times each year and get an average of the number of bobwhite males heard at each stop. The first year serves as your baseline. It will take several years to establish a trend. Through time you will be able to tell if your population is increasing, decreasing or stable. Do not let one “bad” year throw you. Anomalies occur in nature. Plot your numbers through time and focus on the overall trend.
Case 3 – The owner of a small property who would like to hunt it occasionally
Some consider “small” properties for quail those being less than 2,000 acres. That is not practical for many. I use 250 acres as my criteria. On properties of this size, and maybe even up to 500 acres, I believe landowner “familiarity” is a relatively reliable way to track the number of quail coveys each year. By this I assume you are a landowner who spends a great deal of time on your land. You manage it, you know the cover, you develop a feel for what quail need and where they are and during any given year you have a good feel for productivity.
Was it a good hatching year? Did you receive good rainfall during June, July and August? Or did you suffer extreme drought? Did you experience any heavy flooding events during peak times when young broods would abound (late June, July and into August)?
By early fall, you probably have an idea about how many coveys are on your property and perhaps even have a feel for the size of those coveys. The one thing you have to use care to avoid is double counting coveys. Coveys do move around, so when you see coveys on different days in different locations that are relatively close to one another, you can’t be sure they are not the same covey. In your case, though, as long as you do not want to hunt frequently you can safely take some quail off your land during all but the worst years.
Estimate the number of coveys and use an average size for each, generally 12 to 15 birds, calculate the total and use 20% as a general guide on the number that can be safely harvested during all but the worst years. And by “worst years” I mean those summers during which you believe reproduction was slim to none.
Recent research suggests that harvest of adult bobwhites during seasons following years of poor productivity could slow population recovery (Miller et al. 2012). If you want to get any more precise than this, you might consider using the fall covey count method I will describe for Cases 4 and 5.
Cases 4 and 5 – Larger properties that will be hunted moderately or frequently
I lumped these two categories because they involve either large properties where intense familiarity with the entire property is unlikely, or larger properties which will be hunted moderately to frequently.
For my purposes I consider 1,000 – 3,000 acre properties as “large” relative to most others in the mid-South. But the fall covey count method I refer to can be applied to larger properties up to 15,000 or 20,000 acres if resources and time are available.
The fall covey count method was tested and perfected by researchers at Tall Timbers Research Station in Florida (Wellendorf et al. 2004). I will not try to describe it in detail here. But it basically involves assessing your property, developing a series of listening stations designed to cover as much of the property as possible without too much overlap, and then using them to listen for morning covey calls in early fall (mid to late October usually).
As with many surveys, it is best to run the survey at least 2 times and preferably more if resources allow it. In my opinion, the fall covey call count is the most reliable way to accurately assess fall pre-hunt quail populations on larger land holdings. If properly applied, it can allow a property owner to practice “adaptive harvest management,” meaning that harvest rates can be modified annually based on pre-hunt fall population levels. It is applied extensively on some of the premier quail plantations in the Deep South, and has been used to assess the effects of large scale government habitat cost-share programs across multiple states. The method is described in great detail on the Tall Timbers website.
I’ll wrap up by saying the more you know about the quail population on your land, the better you’ll be able to manage habitat and harvest. I hope this has at least provided you a place to start.
-Marc Puckett is the Small Game Project Co-Leader with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Quail Forever is a conservation partner in the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI). Read more NBCI blog posts here.
Comparing Bobwhites and Huns
Monday, October 8th, 2012
I recently had the distinct pleasure of hunting prairie birds in Montana. I was there with a group of fellow writers (including PF Online Editor Anthony Hauck and his awesome, bird-crazy and insanely adorable English cocker, “Sprig”) as part of a press hunt put on by the good folks at Garmin, which just introduced its new Alpha combination GPS/E-collar.
These Huns, along with a sage grouse, were found in Montana sage brush habitat. Photo by Chad Love
I was excited about the trip for a number of reasons: I always enjoy hunting with Anthony and was looking forward to finally seeing Sprig in action. Plus, I have to admit, I’ve often dreamed about it, but I’ve never hunted Montana, even though my father lives there. In addition, the trip would hopefully give me the opportunity to hunt (or at least see) my first sage grouse, a species that, much like the lesser prairie chicken, is experiencing some alarming range-wide declines.
But I had an ulterior reason for looking forward to Montana: I wanted to see this notorious, elusive, and maddening “Hun” that I’ve always read about, and see for myself how it compares to my beloved bobwhite quail.
This quail-like (but bigger) import has always fascinated me, but other than preserve birds (which never, ever count) I’ve never hunted the Hungarian partridge, despite growing up on Hun-hunting stories from the likes of Ben O. Williams and Charley Waterman. The first morning there, “Jenny,” my little English setter, bumped a covey of Huns out of a stubble field that looked as if it couldn’t conceal a grasshopper, much less a group of almost one-pound birds. And that sort of set the tone for the trip, Hun-wise. They hide in places you don’t think it’s possible to hide, they flush at ranges from which you think it’s patently unfair to flush, and they taunt you with hideous bird insults as they leave you, cursing and bewildered, in their dust. Yep, on this trip I quickly learned that Huns aren’t quail, not by a long shot (pun intended).
For starters, Huns seem to take the binary, either/or approach to flushing. Either it’s a wild flush, way out of range, or right at your feet. I certainly experienced no comforting, quail-like middle ground.
For that matter, I never experienced the right-at-your-feet part, either. And then there’s the sound. When they flush, Huns make the most grating, gawd-awful screeching sound I’ve ever heard, sort of like Freddy Krueger dragging his razor-festooned glove across a chalkboard.
But the most interesting thing I observed about Huns is the flush itself. Where a covey of quail will explode upward with individual birds skyrocketing this way and that, Huns, for lack of a better term, seem to flush in formation. They rise together, veer off together and fly way, way away from you, together. There doesn’t seem to be much hunting up singles with Huns. Perhaps it’s their lockstep European heritage, as opposed to the more free-wheeling, individualistic American nature of a bobwhite covey flush.
Whatever the cause, after the sixth or seventh covey (delirious and suffering from dehydration and fatigue, I lost count) toyed with us, then apparated, Harry Potter-like, to somewhere else, I began to think these Huns were devil-birds, Karmic winged wraiths sent to punish me for the transgressions of some ill-spent former life. We walked, and walked, and walked some more, the Huns always dancing just outside range like a cool drink of water shimmering on the horizon.
Which made it all the more weird when, after deciding that I had finally figured out Huns (or more specifically, had finally figured out that they were too darn smart for me) I actually shot my first Hun, a hunted-up single, at a completely normal range, just like a bobwhite. Go figure. Huns are, if nothing else, unpredictable. But what a handsome bird they are! Not quite as handsome as a bobwhite, at least to this admittedly provincial and biased Okie, but beautiful nonetheless, and I now see what all the fuss is about them.
I’d be curious to hear anyone else’s experiences and opinions on the differences (and similarities) between hunting bobwhites and Huns…
Chad Love writes for Quail Forever from Woodward, Oklahoma. He is a lifelong quail hunter and “bird dog guy” who also writes for Field & Stream, including the magazine’s “Man’s Best Friend” gundog blog.
State of the Bobwhite 2012
Monday, October 1st, 2012
State of the Bobwhite 2012 is the second annual report on the status of bobwhite conservation by the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.
Although bobwhite quail populations are still declining, the good news is the momentum behind range-wide restoration efforts continues to strengthen, four more states have launched NBCI-based restoration initiatives and the conservation community has set its sights on a short-term objective that, when achieved, will have a near-immediate impact on quail and other grassland wildlife across hundreds of thousands of acres.
NBCI’s Bobwhite Almanac: State of the Bobwhite 2012 is the second annual report on the status of bobwhite conservation by the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, the unified strategy of 25 state wildlife management agencies, an assortment of research institutions and private conservation groups to restore huntable populations of wild bobwhite quail.
The report asserts a change in USDA grazing lands policy to emphasize drought-tolerant, nutrient-rich and wildlife-friendly native grasses could have the largest near-term positive impact on public wildlife resources on private lands, while simultaneously insulating producers from the economic impacts of drought. USDA subsidies on millions of acres of pasturelands traditionally emphasize the planting of aggressive, non-native grasses that offer little habitat for wildlife and are vulnerable to drought.
“Working with USDA to show them native grasses are not only suitable for livestock operations but also soil and water conservation purposes, and grassland bird habitat, is a top priority over the next year,” said NBCI Director Don McKenzie.
“We have assembled a coalition of 30 conservation groups, including the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, the National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and all of the quail groups (including Quail Forever), to help us push an agenda that is good for the agricultural community, good for taxpayers and good for wildlife.
“In fact, if native grasses had been a substantial part of the agricultural mix we wouldn’t have seen so many producers in trouble during this year’s drought,” said McKenzie, “… and we would have had more quail.”
State of the Bobwhite 2012 also highlights the new bobwhite restoration initiatives of four states – Georgia, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Texas – as well as Kentucky’s new interactive “bluegrass prairie” exhibit featuring a quail aviary, and the U.S. Forest Service’s ambitious new savannah/grassland ecosystem initiative at Land Between the Lakes in western Tennessee and Kentucky.
In addition, there are conservation reports from all 25 NBCI states, details about a new range-wide bobwhite habitat inventory project and a report on the economic impact of bobwhite hunting.
The printed report is also available in an electronic version, which features links to an assortment of additional information, at www.bringbackbobwhites.org.
Quail Forever is a conservation partner in the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI). Read more NBCI blog posts here.
Quail, pollinators, farming topics at MO Field Day 6/21
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – You can learn about the birds and the bees June 21 when University of Missouri’s Bradford Research Center hosts a field day on bobwhite quail and native pollinators. What do bobwhite quail and pollinators have to do with each other? Quite a bit, according to Bob Pierce, state fisheries and wildlife specialist for MU Extension.
“Bobwhite quail require early-successional plant communities – that means forbs and legumes – or weedy vegetation – for food and cover,” Pierce said.
The flowers of these native plants produce nectar that attracts pollinating insects, including certain bees, wasps, butterflies and moths. Others may serve as host plants that provide breeding and feeding areas, he said.
There will be quail management demonstrations from 1 to 3 p.m. on ATV sprayer and warm season grass, drill calibration, tree planting demonstration and bird dog training demonstrations from Perfection Kennels.
From 3-4 p.m Pete Berthelsen, Pheasants and Quail Forever Senior Field Coordinator, winner of the 2011 Farmer/Rancher Pollinator award from the North American Pollinator Protection campaign, will speak on why pollinator habitat and native pollinators can be the key to quail habitat management success.
There will also be a Quail Management 101 class on predator effects, prescribed burning and quail ecology from 4:15 to 7 p.m.
Six all new one hour wagon tours include:
- On the edge of ecnomics
- Field borders and edge feathering
- Creating quail and pollinator habitat
- Implementing wildlife practices: a private landowners perspective
- On the hour field tours
- Walking tour: landscaping and pollinators with native plants
USDA and Arkansas Partners Announce Added Incentives on Conservation Program to Benefit Illinois River Watersheds
Thursday, April 26th, 2012
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Bruce Nelson today announced that USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and the state of Arkansas entered into a revised agreement to add additional incentives to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The Illinois River Watershed CREP, as it is more commonly known, was created to reduce nutrient, bacterial and sediment load in the Illinois River Watersheds.The ripparian and habitat buffers on marginal pasture and cropland ulitized, in addition to increased environmental quality, will provide ideal habitat for quail and other wildlife.”USDA is proud to work with the state of Arkansas to enroll up to 10,000 acres of eligible cropland and marginal pastureland to enhance the water quality, biological diversity and aquatic habitats of the Illinois River Watersheds,” said Nelson.The agreement establishes riparian buffers and filter strips on marginal pastureland and cropland with a goal of reducing 85,000 tons of annual sediment loading into local streams and waterways.
Farmers and ranchers will be able to apply for this program at their Farm Service Agency (FSA) Service Centers. FSA will administer the Illinois River Watershed CREP on behalf of CCC, working with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the state of Arkansas’ Natural Resources Commission (ANRC), and with other state CREP partners.
The primary objectives of this agreement are to conserve, restore and protect water quality and other natural resources within the targeted area through the installation and maintenance of riparian buffers. The program will provide producers financial and technical assistance to protect water resources and curb development by entering into permanent or long-term easement agreements.
Revisions to the Agreement
Under the addendum to the Illinois River Watershed CREP in Arkansas, the following additional provisions were made:
• Enrollment revised to 10,000 acres. Riparian buffers (Cropland and Marginal Pastureland) , CP-22 – up to 6,700 acres and Marginal Pastureland Wildlife Habitat Buffers, CP-29 – up to 3,300 acres. • Maximum average buffer widths may include areas exceeding 300 feet, if overland out-of-bank flow shows evidence of scour erosion, sediment deposition or debris deposits. • Federal incentive payments are increased to 100 percent of base cropland soil rental rate or marginal pastureland rental rate. • The state will make a one-time, lump-sum payment of $400 per acre on the first 1,000 acres enrolled in the Illinois River Watershed CREP. • After the first 1,000 acres are enrolled, the state will make a one-time, lump-sum payment of $200 per acre for acres enrolled in the Illinois River Watershed CREP.
The CCC will pay up to 50 percent of the cost of installing conservation practices. CCC will also pay a 40 percent one-time Practice Incentive Payment of the total eligible cost of practice installation. Conservation practices for the Illinois River Watershed CREP are specialized to meet Arkansas’ unique natural resource conditions, and CREP goals. Federal annual rental payments are provided based on the cropland or marginal pastureland rental rates. Additionally, a CCC signing incentive payment equal to $100 per acre for 10 years will be paid.
The state of Arkansas will provide a one-time total of $400 per acre signing incentive payment on the first 1,000 acres enrolled in the Illinois River Watershed CREP project. After the first 1,000 acres have been enrolled, the state of Arkansas will provide a one-time $200 per acre signing incentive payment for participation in the CREP project. The state will allow eligible participants to utilize a riparian and wetland restoration state tax credit for out-of-pocket costs incurred as part of the CREP practice installation. CREP participants also will be provided, on a voluntary basis, an opportunity to enroll federal contract acres in a state permanent or long-term easement.
The total cost of the Illinois River Watershed CREP Program Agreement over the life of the project is estimated at $21.1 million for a total enrollment of 10,000 acres. The state of Arkansas will contribute $5.7 million to support the overall program cost.
For more information about Farm Service Agency (FSA) conservation programs visit www.fsa.usda.gov.
What To Do?
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Written by Bill White, Missouri Department of Conservation
USDA’s General Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signup is upon us and it’s decision time! With current grain prices, many landowners may be contemplating whether or not to re-enroll CRP acres. The next several blog posts offer options to help you make an educated decision on the future of your CRP.
Option One: Re-enroll
Consider re-enrolling your CRP contract. Don’t worry if your current CRP soil rental rate payment is too low. There’s a good chance the rental rate has improved since the last time you signed the CRP contract. Over the last five years FSA has adjusted CRP soil rental rates. Check with your local USDA Service Center to see what the new soil rental rates are. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Consider converting your CRP field to a wildlife-friendly mix
Back in the 1990’s, most warm-season CRP fields were planted to a mix of “giant” native grasses and a pinch of wildflowers. Back then, we thought more was better; so many grass seeding rates were around 8 to 12 pounds per acre. We’ve learned a lot over the last 10 to 15 years about establishing native grasses! Research has shown we can have good habitat and reduce soil erosion with much lower seeding rates (around 3 to 5 pounds of grass along with 3 pounds of native wildflowers per acre). Better seeding mixes are good for the landowner and good for wildlife.
Instead of re-enrolling the current grass cover – whether it is warm-season or cool-season, consider replanting the field to a quail-friendly mix of little bluestem, wildflowers and legumes. Old CRP fields will need 2 to 3 herbicide applications to effectively remove the existing cover. Don’t skimp on herbicide either. You’ll pay for it in the long run with re-invading fescue or brome. During the current CRP sign up consult with your local wildlife biologist or Private Land Conservationist for recommended seeding mixes and conversion techniques. Converting to a quail-friendly mix is also likely to improve your overall CRP score.
Pollinator Habitat
Consider converting 10% of your existing CRP into pollinator habitat blocks. Pollinators like honeybees and native insects are experiencing significant population declines due to loss of habitat, loss of floral diversity, invasive plants, disease and parasites. Both honey bees and native bees are important to agriculture:
- The value of honeybee pollination to U. S. agriculture is estimated at $18.9 billion per year.
- 75% of the flowering plants in the world rely on pollinators for reproduction.
- 35% of the crop production in the world is dependent upon pollinators.
Pollinator plots are great for butterflies, bees, and numerous wildlife species. Establish these plots in block or long narrow bands adjacent to shrubby cover. These plots will provide outstanding deer browse, plus great bugging areas for grassland birds throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Providing pollinator habitat will also improve your overall CRP score.
The next More Quail blog will look at keeping buffers around fields that may be coming out of CRP.
NBCI Repost
Read more http://mdc.mo.gov/blogs/more-quail/jump-starting-your-quail-population
Ever Shot a Banded Quail?
Friday, March 9th, 2012
I’ve been an enthusiastic (if incompetent) duck hunter since I was a teenager, and I have shot (mostly on accident) a fair number of ducks. However, I have never shot a banded duck. This perceived deficiency is certainly not due to a lack of trying on my part. On those rare occasions when I have ducks actually cup their wings to set in the decoys, I’ll strain my eyes looking for that tell-tale glint of silver on outstretched feet. And then I’ll miss. What’s worse, I know plenty of guys who just have a knack for collecting the lanyard bling. Nothing’s more disheartening than being bandless while sharing the blind with some guy sporting a lanyard so choked with jewelry you can’t even see the actual lanyard.
Bernard Brown of Sand Springs harvested this banded quail at Cimarron Hills WMA in January. The bird was banded and released back in October as part of an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation research effort, and hunters were asked to report any banded quail harvested. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
So what does this have to do with quail hunting? I’ll tell you…one of the things I’ve always loved about quail hunting is the fact that it doesn’t have that same type of band fetish. Quail hunters generally prefer memories to such totems of personal accomplishment. Or at least I like to think so. That way, the hapless losers among us don’t feel so inadequate in the presence of those who know what they’re doing (and yes, I’m a card-carrying member of the former rather than the latter…).
Now you can argue that the only reason we don’t have a band fetish is the obvious fact that quail don’t get banded, but the times they are ‘a changing, and one lucky Oklahoma hunter may have started a trend that, if it continues, is sure to make me feel as inadequate in the uplands as I do in the marsh…
From this story from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation:
Bernard Brown of Sand Springs harvested a quail Jan. 19 at the Cimarron Hills Wildlife Management Area in northwest Oklahoma that may have looked like any other when he shot at it on the flush. But when his German shorthaired pointer “Blade” retrieved the bird, it became clear that something was different.
“I noticed immediately it was banded,” Brown said. “I was stoked. Made my day!” Brown’s bird was part of a group of 165 quail that were trapped, sampled and banded by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation biologists at the end of 2011 for research. Specifically, Brown’s bird was a juvenile male that had been trapped and banded in October and released after blood and other biological samples were collected from the bird.
Hunters were notified by the Wildlife Department of the possibility of harvesting banded quail on several western Oklahoma WMAs this season and were asked to report banded birds if they harvested one. By doing so, biologists can keep tabs on the mortality of the sampled birds. In addition to the birds that were banded and released, close to 75 others were trapped and sent to research facilities for extensive studies.
I know that quail banding programs, just like waterfowl banding programs, are very important scientific tools and aren’t, in point of fact, a giant conspiracy against my self-esteem. It just seems that way. At least I can take comfort in the fact that a quail band is so tiny it probably wouldn’t fit on a lanyard, anyway.
Anyone else ever shot a banded quail? And if you did shoot one, where would you display it?
Chad Love writes for Quail Forever from Woodward, Oklahoma. He is a lifelong quail hunter and “bird dog guy” who also writes for Field & Stream, including the magazine’s “Man’s Best Friend” gundog blog.
How Can I Make a Difference?
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
By Ben Robinson
Coordinator, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife
We spend lots of time talking about what landowners can do to benefit quail. Reduce mowing, strip disking, prescribed fire; you’ve heard us mention them all. Quail managers are quick to preach about habitat management, and rightly so. The loss of quality habitat is a leading cause in the decline of bobwhite.
Unfortunately, we too often forget about all of our supporters that may not own land. I know lots of folks who are avid supporters of our quail restoration efforts, but they live in town. And yet we constantly wrestle with how to handle this wonderful group of bobwhite allies. It shouldn’t be hard for us to create a list of ideas for those who want to make a difference.
With help from our friends at the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) I’ve compiled a short list that I hope will inspire you to get involved with the on-going effort in Kentucky, or wherever you call home.
Kentucky's quail license plate generates much needed funds for bobs. Ask for one in your state!
Purchase a specialty bobwhite license plate
•All proceeds from the sale of this plate go directly back to the management of bobwhite in Kentucky. Don’t live in KY? Check with your local county clerk and see if you have a similar license plate available to you.
Join a conservation organization
•Several organizations are in place that focus on quail and grassland restoration including Quail Forever. Show your support by joining one today.
Attend a state wildlife commission meeting
•Voice your support for quail restoration in your state by attending an agency commission meeting. Can’t make it to a meeting? Give your local commission member a call or write a letter in support of quail work in your state. Check agency websites for their contact information.
Do you hunt on private land? Encourage those landowners to do more.
•If you hunt on private land, or simply know someone who owns property, encourage those folks to manage some of their land for quail. Put them in contact with a local biologist who can help them manage their property. Encourage them to cut back on unnecessary mowing, too!
Get creative and lead by example!
•I’ve listed a few ideas to get you started but by no means is this the only way you can help. If you have ideas, share them with others. Contact your state quail coordinator and let them know that you’ve thought of a way to help. Better yet, add your ideas to the comments section below for all to see and put to use!
Quail Forever is a conservation partner in the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI). Read more NBCI blog posts here.
Learn more about the NBCI at www.bringbackbobwhites.org.
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