I can remember a time when quail were much more plentiful in Oklahoma than whitetail deer
I can remember a time when quail were much more plentiful in Oklahoma than whitetail deer. As a youngster, I recall tagging along with my greatgrandfather and his favorite bird dogs, which happened to be pointers, combing the brush, thickets and fence rows in southern Oklahoma searching for quail or “ditch chickens”.
I can remember a time when quail were much more plentiful in Oklahoma than whitetail deer. As a youngster, I recall tagging along with my greatgrandfather and his favorite bird dogs, which happened to be pointers, combing the brush, thickets and fence rows in southern Oklahoma searching for quail or “ditch chickens”.
Although just a pup myself, the memories made with my 90-year old mentor and closest ally will last forever. I marveled in amazement as the dogs worked through the thickest cover imaginable and I do remember him saying, “The good ole’ days of quail hunting are going away.”
I’m not sure even he could have foreseen the loss of habitat and decline of the numbers of birds. There has been a decline in quail population since 1960, and the number of quail hunters in Oklahoma has followed suit.
Two species of quail can be found in Oklahoma. One is the northern bobwhite, whose range is nearly statewide, and the scaled quail, which is seen mainly in the western edge including the Panhandle. I have always heard the scaled species referred to as “blue quail.” Both types are ground-dwellers that dine on seeds and insects. Areas with high amounts of forbs (plants and weeds that are not grasses or woody) can be a food source by providing nutritious seed and attracting protein-rich insects.
Bobwhite quail are found in groups called coveys and a covey is generally 12 to 15 birds, but can be larger. Though they can build a nest in many places, quail prefer building nests in mature native bunchgrasses 12 inches in diameter and eight inches in height. The average lifespan of a wild quail is seven months and only 20 percent survive from one October to the next.
The ODWC is interested in providing information to any landowners who wish to work to improve the habitat of quail. Ninety-seven percent of Oklahoma land is privately owned. Without private landowners, wildlife management is not going to happen.
Tell Judkins, Upland Game Biologist for the ODWC said, “Most folks are familiar with El Nino, the weather pattern where we see it rainier with cooler temperatures, but some may not be as familiar with his evil twin sister, La Nina. We’ve been in a La Nina cycle for the past three years, seeing dryer and warmer conditions than normal, which are generally much tougher conditions for quail.”
“Habitat and weather are the primary drivers of quail numbers and their declines. While we can’t do much about the weather, we can do something about habitat,” said Judkins.
“The idea of habitat can be a difficult thing to wrap our heads around. For most, habitat is thought of as— either you have it or you don’t. In reality, habitat is a scale —think balance scale like Lady Justice holds. Our grandparents could paint a picture of the first time they saw a white-tailed deer, which today are quite abundant, this happened through conservation and habitat management. In some areas of the state, that habitat became much more suitable to deer than it was to quail. We can also put mesocarnivores such as raccoons, opossums and skunks on the side of the scale opposite of quail, as that habitat became more suitable for those predators, the habitat was less suitable for quail and there were more predators trying to eat them. Now, it’s important to note here that just going after the predator doesn’t do much good to a quail in this situation that I’ve described because of the fact the habitat is still not where a quail needs it to be.”
Quail season runs from November 12, 2022 through February 15, 2023. Shooting hours are from official sunrise to official sunset. Shotgun, archery equipment and legal raptors are listed as legal means of taking quail. The daily limit is ten birds. Twenty birds in possession after the first day. At no time may any quail or covey be shot while resting on the ground, commonly called “pot shooting”. A new regulation is that the quail season is closed on public lands in western Oklahoma after January 31st to non-resident quail hunters. This new rule does not affect resident quail hunters.
Two conservation groups who have projects and fundraisers for the preservation of these birds are Quail Forever and Quail Unlimited. We need to work to rebuild the numbers of this magnificent game bird for future generations. For further reading, Tell Judkins has written an article putting habit loss into a perspective for most folks. This story can be found at https:// nbgi . org/ 2020/ 11/ 05/ the- threebedroom- house-an-analogy-for-quail/ Also, there are many programs out there to help landowners better manage their properties for quail. Landowners can visit: https://www. wildlifedepartment. com/ lands- andminerals/ landowner-programs to learn more about available programs like Prescribed Burning, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP), and the Quail Enhancement Program. Gun safety in the field is paramount.
Reach Kilgore at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo.com.
