As a youngster, I grew up hunting quail and pheasants with my dad. We had some of the best bird dogs in the county. The habitat that game birds needed to thrive was abundant, and the birds were plentiful.
Unfortunately, those days are gone, but I, like many other hunters, still have the passion burning deep inside to hunt quail. I will always cherish the moments I had with my dad hunting brushy fencerows for a covey or two of quail. But, as hunters, we can do our part right now to ensure that the next generation of hunters have the opportunity to hunt quail and other gamebirds.
Hunters might have lost quail habitat, but not the love of the quail hunt. It is now up to the hunters, landowners, wildlife managers and biologists to turn things around. We owe it to the quail and our love of the sport to do our part.
Problems first arose when grain prices went through the roof and farmers began bulldozing away fencerows and other quail habitat to make room for more crops. Farmers can’t be blamed though, their job is to raise crops, not quail.
Another problem is top of the line farm equipment that leaves little in the way of wasted grain on the ground. Not too many years ago a combine left a good amount of high-energy food such as corn, wheat and sorghum behind on the ground. Now, it is difficult to find any waste that helps birds survive the winter.
Hunters are the first line of defense for quail. Sure, it helps to buy a hunting license, but it isn’t enough.
If hunters and others really want to help quail, join a group dedicated to helping quail and quail habitat. Quail Forever and other organizations perform research to improve quail habitat, and through local chapters actual work is done to improve habitat. As a member, your membership dues go towards those improvements, and as a hunter you will reap the benefits.
One of the best ways hunters can help quail is to improve quail habitat. This has to be done on private lands to overcome our losses and rebuild the quail population. Landowners, for the most part, are willing to help. If landowners had an outline to follow, many would be willing to help replace the habitat that has been stripped from upland birds and other wildlife.
FENCEROWS
Today, landowners plow every inch of soil they can. If a farmer would be willing to leave just an 8-foot wide strip along the edge, it would do wonders to help replenish the population. It would provide an area for birds to nest and find food. The birds would also use the overgrown area as travel lanes to get to other areas of the land.
In pastures used for livestock, or even vacant pasture land, plant fences of multiflora rose, blackberry, honeysuckle and cedars. For every 40 acres of pasture there should be at least two fences. Fences provide shelterbelts from cold weather that quail need.
Also, ask the landowner to mow around patches of blackberry, honeysuckle and multiflora rose. Not only will the quail appreciate the blackberries, but you can as well. Not everything has to be mowed down. Islands of briars and bushes will provide shelterbelts, nesting and feeding areas. Before you remove anything from the land, think of what impact it will have on wildlife.
FOOD PLOTS
Food plots are not just for deer and turkey, they are also an asset for upland birds. Food plots should be near brushy draws, corners of overgrown fencerows, edges of wooded areas and other areas that quail want to be. You can even add brush piles near existing food plots.
After talking with a couple of wildlife managers, I have come to the conclusion that a one-acre plot, divided in half works best. One year, plant one-half in a food plot blend suitable for quail such as a sorghum and millet mix and let the other half to grow annual weeds. This will provide native seeds, bare ground for dusting and grain for food. Ask your local Quail Forever chapter members what food plot blend they recommend for your area.
BRUSHPILES
It is common practice to burn or push up brush piles, but unless you just have to, don’t.
When cutting down trees, leave a 3-foot-high stump. With the firewood cut up and removed, pile leftover branches around the stump, laying one end of the limbs on the stump at an angle toward the ground. When you have limbs all around the stump, take the rest of the cuttings and lay them on the angled limbs. The openings can be used by quail, rabbits and other animals. Remember, lots of little brush piles are better than one big pile.
PREDATOR CONTROL
Another reason for the decline in quail has to do with coyotes. Coyotes are out of control, they are hurting the populations of every animal, from rabbits to deer. The next time you have an opportunity to hunt or trap a coyote, do it. You are doing the rest of the wildlife a huge favor.
CONCLUSION
This is just a few things you can do to help the birds. We are long gone from the days when quail habitat was everywhere. It was once common for rows of weeds and native grasses 30-feet wide to border fields. Blackberry, foxtail, grasses, sumac and wild grapes thrived in old fencerows, and so did quail.
The bobwhite will always be around. But, how many that are around depends on what the hunter and landowner are willing to do. If enough is done, we can keep the numbers from declining, and maybe even see an increase.
