OUR METHOD & UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES
Improving or restoring quail populations begins with habitat. Restocking, releasing, supplemental feeding, or predator control have very little effect on increasing a breeding quail populations until the basic needs of the birds are present and abundant.
The northern bobwhite is a specialist species that thrives on disturbance, like many game species. However, unlike wild turkeys or white-tailed deer, they do not readily adapt and prosper in a wide range of habitats. There are many reasons for this, but there are two main characteristics of quail that prevent them from thriving in many of our present landscapes:
1) Quail are ground birds, spending as much as 99% of the day without flying. Feeding, grooming, watering, and sleeping is all done on the ground. Flight is only necessary to escape from predators or to find better areas to carry out the functions listed above. Very few places exist today that provide overhead cover while also maintaining open travel corridors on the ground.
2) Quail are not migratory, often hatching, growing, breeding, and then dying on a piece of ground measuring less than 50 acres. The only significant movement of of most coveys happens during breeding season, as males have been known to fly several miles in search of hens to breed with.
Once we accept these two limitations, the first step to improving quail numbers is to determine which is the most significant factor. If wild birds are already in the area, we focus on restriction #1. This involves manipulating the plant communities to provide open ground conditions while maintaining overhead cover.
If the habitat has been created and no birds are present (assessed through listening to quail calls or systematically looking for birds with trained dogs), then we need to reintroduce quail to the environment. Methods for this are discussed further on the next page..... CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE