Posted 10:54 pm Sunday, October 25, 2009
Quail Numbers Down Across Most Of Texas
By STEVE KNIGHT
Outdoor Writer
As if most years aren't now days, this could be an especially trying year for Texas quail hunters.
Outdoor Writer
As if most years aren't now days, this could be an especially trying year for Texas quail hunters.
Thanks to two years of drought South Texas, which has become the state's most consistent quail country, looks like a bust for Saturday's statewide season opening day.
"It has been real tough on quail," said Alan Cain, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Wildlife Division district leader in Pleasanton. "There are some places with a decent carryover. They had enough to nest; we just didn't see a lot of nesting success."
Cain said a few highly managed properties in South Texas might have a huntable quantity of quail this fall, but overall hunters might see, at best, a half of what they normally would.
He added there is a slight chance the September-October rains might have resulted in some late nesting activity.
"Hunters need to be careful early and watch for small birds if they are trying o build up numbers for the future," Cain said.
While there might be some ranches better than others in the remainder of the state, studying TPWD's quail count, those will be few. With the exception of the Trans Pecos region, where scaled quail numbers are near the long-term average, counts around the state bottomed out this fall. The next best bet is the Rolling Plains, which for quail management dips south of Abilene, slightly east of Wichita Falls and includes the entire eastern range of the Panhandle. However, even there numbers are down two-thirds from a year ago and stand about a quarter of the long-term average.
"I give the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch a four on a scale from one (pitiful) to 10 (can I borrow some more shells)? I rated the ranch a seven last year," Dr. Dale Rollins, Texas AgriLife Extension Service quail researcher said by e-mail. The RPQRR is located in Fisher County, northwest of Abilene.
"We've had 20 inches of rain (for the year) as of yesterday, which is right at normal. The bugaboo in this year's quail depressed production is a function of a dry September through April. A dry fall-winter-spring is difficult on quail and we never really pulled out of the rut," he added.
Rollins said he is hearing better reports from landowners farther north within the Rolling Plains region.
"There is a lot of cover so nobody will know until December after some hard freezes and ample dog sampling, but I'm anxious about the situation here," he wrote.
Rollins said the silver lining in what appears to be a dark cloud is the rain falling since September could be a boon to production next spring and summer.
"El Nino patterns tend to give us a warm, wet winter.� We're already seeing a good crop of filaree (a winter annual), which tends to correlate well with a good quail year next summer.� Fall rains also provide a good broomweed year the next summer," Rollins said.
