Saturday, July 25, 2020

WV's quail restoration steadies after shaky start

By JOHN McCOY

Under the clear West Virginia sky, a distinctive bird call rolled out across the landscape.
Bob … white!
It was a sound that hadn’t been heard in Logan County for close to 50 years — the song of a wild bobwhite quail. Now it’s being heard again.
Four months ago, state wildlife officials stocked 48 of the chunky little gamebirds on the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area near Holden. Logan Klingler, the area’s manager, said they’re still there.
“Last week, while I was working out near the [elk-release] pens, I heard four separate ones,” Klingler said. “Later, I [flushed] two that were dusting in the road. We know they’re around, but we don’t know how many.”
That uncertainty stems from a mistake Klingler and other biologists made when they fitted the birds with tiny electronic tracking collars.
“We hadn’t worked with these collars before,” Klingler said. “There’s a wire you’re supposed to crimp a certain way, and we put the wrong bend in it. A lot of the collars fell off.”
Thirty-five of the 48 birds received collars. Klingler said more than half of the devices dropped off almost immediately, and several more have dropped off since then.
“The first morning I went out to track them, I picked up a mortality sensor,” he continued. “I marked that bird as dead. Then I picked up another mortality signal, and another, and another.”
As it turned out, all the signals were coming from the box the quail were released from.
“We had a ‘soft release,’ where we put the quail in a box and then opened the box so they could leave whenever they wanted,” Klingler explained. “We looked in the box. The collars were there, but the quail weren’t.”
The loss of the collars will affect the amount of data biologists can collect, not only about the birds’ comings and goings, but also on the number killed by hawks, owls, bobcats, coyotes and other predators.
“We’ve had some predation already,” Klingler said. “We can usually tell what the predator was by the evidence they leave behind.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Stories from the Wild: Canary of the Prairie Wild Quail Dale Rollins Video


If not for Dale Rollins, we would be without quail in west Texas. He channels his inspiring personality and passion for life into protecting the future of bobwhite quail. While there are many ways to measure his success, none matters to him more than instilling a love for wildlife in future generations.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

South Caroline Quail management seminar registration open

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host the 31st annual Wild Quail Management Seminar at the Webb Wildlife Center in Hampton County on Thursday March 12 through Friday March 13,. This seminar is designed for landowners and land managers interested in improving their skills in managing habitat for native populations of bobwhite quail.
Seminar topics will include:
Habitat Manipulation including demonstrations of prescribed burning, firebreak establishment, brush control, discing for natural foods and food patch planting
Presentations on wild quail management by DNR wildlife biologists
Field Trips on the Webb Wildlife Center demonstrating habitat management practices,

Guest Speakers from the South Carolina Forestry Commission and Natural Resources Conservation Service
Research Update (Tall Timbers) on recent projects in the southeast
Continuing Forestry Education Credits (TBD)
There will be evening activities, so please plan to be available. Submit registration form with a check ($85/person) payable to HARRY HAMPTON WILDLIFE FUND. (We do not have credit card capability.) Slots will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, so send your registration form and check as soon as possible. The registration fee includes overnight accommodations (bunkhouse-type accommodations - rooms will be shared by 3-6 people (there are no private rooms)), meals and seminar materials.
The deadline to register is Friday February 28. For more information call (803) 734-3609.
See the full original post

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Oklahoma Bobwhite Quail Hunt | The Flush - Season 8, Episode #13 Video


Travis Frank hits the road with Minnesota dog trainer, George Lyall, for an epic quail hunt in the rolling hills of Oklahoma. America's quail rebound takes center stage on this public land quail hunting adventure.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

TX Statewide Quail Symposium set Aug. 14-16 2019 in Abilene

The 2019 Statewide Quail Symposium has been slated for Aug. 14-16 at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Abilene.
The symposium is hosted by The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Wildlife Association and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Early registration is $50. After August 7, the cost is $75. Cost for students is $20. Coordinators have reserved a block of rooms at the MCM Elegante until July 16.
“Proceeds from this event will be donated to the Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigade,” said Dr. Maureen Frank, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist, Uvalde, and a symposium coordinator. “Our goal is to bring together a wide range of people who care about quail in Texas and benefit the next generation by supporting RPBB.”
Frank said all quail enthusiasts are encouraged to attend, including landowners, land managers, hunters, photographers, naturalists, students and others.
“We encourage attendees from both large and small properties to attend, as there will truly be topics for everybody to improve quail management,” she said. “Even if you don’t own or lease land, there will be topics for you.”
The first day’s activities will be held at the MT7 Ranch. In addition to a tour of the ranch and discussion of its quail management practices, attendees will have the opportunity to learn and practice habitat evaluation and plant identification.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Learn about improving habitat for quail at seminar in March 2019 in South Carolina

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is hosting its 31st-Annual Wild Quail Management Seminar on March 7-8 at James W. Webb Wildlife Center and Management Area (1282 Webb Ave., Garnett, SC).

This will be the only seminar about wild quail offered in 2019 by SCDNR. The registration fee is $85 per person, which includes meals, overnight accommodations and seminar materials. The deadline to register is Friday, Feb. 22. For more information, contact the SCDNR Small Game Program in Columbia at (803) 734-3609, e-mail Patty Castine or visit www.dnr.sc.gov/education/quail.html.

Field demonstrations and classroom instruction will focus on habitat practices including firebreak establishment, prescribed burning, forest management, brush control, discing for natural foods and supplemental food patch plantings.

Presentations will be given on wild quail natural history, biology, diseases and parasites, predation and other factors that may be contributing to the population decline.

An update on current research will also be presented. Speakers will include wildlife and forestry professionals from state and federal agencies.

Bobwhite quail populations in the Southeast, including South Carolina, have been declining steadily over the past 60 years due to major land use change and reduction in suitable habitat. The 31st Annual Wild Quail Management Seminar is designed to instruct landowners and land managers in the proper techniques of creating habitat that will support native populations of bobwhite quail.

"The annual quail management seminar is a great place to meet and learn from many experts in the natural resources field," said Michael Hook, SCDNR wildlife biologist and Small Game Project supervisor. "So if you have any interest in creating better habitat for bobwhite quail and the other assorted species that use these early successional habitats, this seminar is for you."

Around 1,500 people have attended the seminar since its inception in 1987. These sportsmen and sportswomen have positively affected thousands of acres across South Carolina by applying basic techniques to improve habitat on their lands.