Managing for quail?

[fishinwrench]

The only "predator" that I've ever seen snatch a quail is a hawk.  

But foxes and coyotes are all anybody ever assumes.  

The old bird hunters I grew up around used to say that turkeys would eat quail eggs. And when MDC did their big turkey trade deal back in the late '70's all the  bird hunters threw a big fit about it.   

All I know for a fact, is that back when quail numbers were excellent there was A LOT of foxes and coyotes.....so I'm not convinced that they are the cause of depleted quail numbers. 

[ness]

I haven't researched it at all, but the glory days in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, seem to coincide with the low populations of hawks. I don’t think it’s the only factor, but I think it’s a major factor. Seems like I see a hawk on about 1 out of every 10 telephone poles these days. 

CRP certainly gave things a boost, but it’s been in decline for years. 

All the people I used to hunt with in western KS for pheasant/quail have given it up.

I joined a club several years ago but quit that about three years ago due to some club BS. The hunting wasn’t that great anyway.

The last few years have been preserve hunts close to home. It’s ok but I miss the camaraderie of the big group and the challenge of hunting wild birds. 

[Terrierman]

11 minutes ago, ness said:

I haven't researched it at all, but the glory days in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, seem to coincide with the low populations of hawks. I don’t think it’s the only factor, but I think it’s a major factor. Seems like I see a hawk on about 1 out of every 10 telephone poles these days. 

CRP certainly gave things a boost, but it’s been in decline for years. 

All the people I used to hunt with in western KS for pheasant/quail have given it up.

I joined a club several years ago but quit that about three years ago due to some club BS. The hunting wasn’t that great anyway.

The last few years have been preserve hunts close to home. It’s ok but I miss the camaraderie of the big group and the challenge of hunting wild birds. 

Who knew we had the last of the good old days.  When I was a kid, this time of the year fried quail, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans and some kind of pie for dessert was nothing out of the ordinary - but still special - Sunday dinner.  My uncle had a '59 Dodge with those huge fins that he put vents into the trunk for the bird dogs.  We would go with him and his cousin and walk for what seemed like forever.  But somehow we always made it home for dinner.   Those days now seem so far away and gone forever, almost like they never happened.  But they did.

 

[Ketchup]

What other game bird roost’s on the ground? Poor quail really don’t have a chance. 

[Terrierman]

1 hour ago, Ketchup said:

What other game bird roost’s on the ground? Poor quail really don’t have a chance. 

Pheasants come to mind.  Chukar and grouse are ground nesters.  Grouse do roost in trees.  Chukar do not.

[tjm]

Not game birds but

5 hours ago, Ketchup said:

What other game bird roost’s on the ground? Poor quail really don’t have a chance. 

What game bird doesn't nest on the ground?

Only wood ducks and doves that I can think of. And crows if you count them as game birds.

Game birds nesting on the ground include ducks, geese, grouse, prairie chickens,  turkeys, pheasants, rails, partridge, snipe,  woodcock, chukar, ptamigan that I can think of.

Other ground nesting birds; killdeer, whip poor will, larks, sandhill cranes, sandpipers, plover, warblers, meadowlark, bobolink, native sparrows, yellowthroat, towhee, nighthawks, chuck-will’s-widow, most shore birds (I think)

And there are also the under ground nesters including kingfishers, burrowing owls, bank swallows

 

[BilletHead]

58 minutes ago, tjm said:

Not game birds but

What game bird doesn't nest on the ground?

Only wood ducks and doves that I can think of. And crows if you count them as game birds.

Game birds nesting on the ground include ducks, geese, grouse, prairie chickens,  turkeys, pheasants, rails, partridge, snipe,  woodcock, chukar, ptamigan that I can think of.

Other ground nesting birds; killdeer, whip poor will, larks, sandhill cranes, sandpipers, plover, warblers, meadowlark, bobolink, native sparrows, yellowthroat, towhee, nighthawks, chuck-will’s-widow, most shore birds (I think)

And there are also the under ground nesters including kingfishers, burrowing owls, bank swallows

 

                 I think Ketchup said roost and not nest.  

     Baby turkeys before flight feathers are very venerable for a while and even when they are able to fly cannot get very high for at first. I seen some little ones go to roost and they were about the size of a quail and only got up a foot or two at the most.  Those little birds are still easy targets from ground predators. 

[Terrierman]

On 11/20/2022 at 4:58 PM, fishinwrench said:

The only "predator" that I've ever seen snatch a quail is a hawk.  

But foxes and coyotes are all anybody ever assumes.  

The old bird hunters I grew up around used to say that turkeys would eat quail eggs. And when MDC did their big turkey trade deal back in the late '70's all the  bird hunters threw a big fit about it.   

All I know for a fact, is that back when quail numbers were excellent there was A LOT of foxes and coyotes.....so I'm not convinced that they are the cause of depleted quail numbers. 

It's all about habitat now.

[tjm]

1 hour ago, BilletHead said:

 I think Ketchup said roost and not nest.  

He did but I don't think many of the ground nesting game birds  roost in trees, and nesting is kind of an extended "roost" .  I may be wrong on that, because I haven't really thought about where an adult duck sleeps.  I changed his question because the birds greatest vulnerability is in nesting and the week or three following hatching. Quail are not alone in that vulnerability, and they have adapted by high rates of reproduction. They typically produce enough offspring that the predators can eat some and some will survive. If that was not  true for the past zillion years we would not have them to talk about. They are not evolved to deal with man made habitat changes, and possibly not fully adapted to survive  climate changes.

It also occurs to me that we started hunting ground oriented birds eons ago primarily because they did not escape to trees.

[MoCarp]

Blackberries in rows….build brush piles….kill off preds including feral house cats, rats/ mice…..hawks/owls are hell on rabbits and quail…over grown RR right always had the best quail hunting for me….prairie grass planted in rows….still a few prairie chickens around mindenmines area….been a few years but state was buying booming grounds there years ago….