This week, HuntingXpert Contributor, “Pop”, takes a look at the rising concern for lowering quail limits, and hunters’ limited sucess in finding the birds where they used to be plentiful…thanks Pop, for your sage advice!
The Oct 25, 2009 Sunday edition of the Ft Worth Star Telegram had an article by Bill Miller titled “Quail hunting [...]
This week, HuntingXpert Contributor, “Pop”, takes a look at the rising concern for lowering quail limits, and hunters’ limited sucess in finding the birds where they used to be plentiful…thanks Pop, for your sage advice!
The Oct 25, 2009 Sunday edition of the Ft Worth Star Telegram had an article by Bill Miller titled “Quail hunting days of old long gone”.
I thought I knew what this article would be about, but I was only partly correct in my assumption. “Old timers”, it said, think that the fire ants are a major contributor to the decline of the quail population. I’ve heard that theory for years. I’m an old timer, and I think there’s a lot of truth to that. But the article goes on to say that a representative of the National Audubon Society, Sarah Robinson of Audubon Texas, says that a more likely culprit is “fragmentation” meaning vast areas of quality habitat for quail and other grassland birds have been disrupted by grazing and farming operations or housing subdivisions. Well, I can understand how that would be possible, and maybe they’re right. Maybe they’ll convince farmers and developers to set aside areas with “appropriate native Texas grass”, etc. for the quail to live and hide and reproduce. I hope so. My kids hope so, and my bird dogs probably would too if they could only grasp the concept of “too many homes and cows”.
Resting the dogs and checking out beavers' logs...
OK. Y’all are wondering, “what’s my point”. Here ‘tis. Why has the daily limit for quail been 15 for the past several years? Why have a possession limit of 45? Why have a hunting season last 4 full months for a game animal that is disappearing? Doesn’t a daily limit of 6 or 8 make a whole lot more sense, even though we all hope that most hunters will exercise restraint regarding daily limits?
Will this be as close as our kids get to seeing the real thing?
Also, have y’all noticed how many coyotes there are now? I see them while hunting, driving down the highway, and I recently saw one walking down the street in front of my house in Keller, Texas. I bet they love to eat quail as much as I do, but who knows? What about deer feeders tossing corn that is tainted? That can’t be good for the deer or the quail. I’ve heard others say that the expansion of turkeys or maybe the loss of cactus has contributed to the quail population decline.
Less coyotes in the field means more quail roosts in the field.
Have you ever wondered why the silent majority never seems to be heard? Well, quit being silent! Write your congressman, as they say. Support our friends in high places like Tyler newspaper Outdoor Editor Steve Knight at 903-596-6277 or by e-mail at outdoor@tylerpaper.com. I spoke with Steve, and he said one of the most important things we can do is financially support organizations that support us. Check out the Rolling Plains Quail Research Center through Park Cities Quail, or the Cesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute or the new program getting started at Texas Tech. Steve says “Hunters have always made the difference, whether it be elephant numbers in Africa or white-tailed deer and elk in the U.S.”
Well, alright. Maybe being a vocal minority is too much to ask of you, but talk to your hunting buddies. Maybe they’ll have the guts to speak up for something that’s near and dear to you and me.
Happy trails,
Pop
Rolling Plains Quail Research
URL: http://www.quailresearch.org/mission.htm
Park Cities Quail
URL: http://www.parkcitiesquail.org/
Cesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
URL: http://ckwri.tamuk.edu/research-programs/quail-research/
