Reader responds to quail story
For most pointers, it's been absolutely pointless this quail season
“I am 69 years (old) and have been hunting quail in Oklahoma since I was big enough to ride with my Dad and his buddies starting back in the late 1940s,” Hart wrote in an email. “I still farm part time in western Oklahoma around Hydro where I was born and raised.
I would add the following to what was said in the article in the paper on Sunday.
1. The Packsaddle quail study done several years ago showed that putting out feeders would hurt the quail numbers due to more attacks by airborne predators. Many hunters put out these feeders for turkey and deer and hogs. Most are filled with corn but some mix in milo also. This just makes a buffet for the hawks, etc.
“We have more hawks now in my opinion and I have personally witnessed a hawk attack, kill and fly off with a healthy quail.
2. The Packsaddle study also made mention that the greatest predator on quail eggs are snakes.
3. County commissioners are erasing habitat along country roads by removing brush where we used to find many birds.
4. Farmers are also cleaning up old house places where we used to find many coveys.
5. Possible bad health effects on quail by farmers use of herbicides (no till farming), pesticides, and fertilizers. I know quail eat wheat both grain and green leaves.
6. Many shelterbelts have been cleared by farmers in an effort to clean up their fields for more crop land.
7. Feral hog numbers are very high also but I have no idea if feral hogs could or would destroy nests.
8. Hunting every day cannot be good as I believe quail need some days off to regroup for safety against predators and weather.
“I would like to go back to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and holiday hunting myself.
I know it would not be politically correct to blame the farmers but I think some of the more modern farm practices might be hurting our birds.
Well, these are some of the things which were not covered in your article which those in authority might consider.”
Thank you for joining our conversation on Outdoors. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.
Comments
I have heard from some local farmer’s in the Sayre area that the Cattle Egret’s are eating small birds. Has anyone else heard this??
Thanks
Kirby
Unchecked predators are doing more damage to Quail numbers than habitat. The egg eaters like Snakes, Skunks and Armadillos always get their share, but Hawks, Turkeys and Feral Hogs are doing big damage to quail numbers as well.
Have to agree with Mr.Hart’s post on many of topics he touched upon.Certainly,in a few areas modern farming practices encroach on quail habitat don’t think there consumption of wheat,milo,etc.contains enough herbicide to affect survival rates,though.Avian and ground predators seem to wreak the most havoc on birds unfortunately.Think back to the days when gov’t.hunters were the norm(and twice as many people trapped as do today)racoon,skunk,fox&coyote populations were a fraction of what they are currently.Public and private land I hunt(and still succesfully thank you) has changed very little from 50 years ago…a few more cedar trees(even though bob’s do use them for shelter at times)however most small farms still leave fencerows,go easy on herbicide&pesticides,rotate grazing,etc. so we can’t malign the farmer too much.Again agree with Mr.Hart concerning “everyday ” season…think of the wma’s in western Okla.used to get hit every day year in year out.Bird hunter’s I learned from 40 years ago always had unspoken rule of only taking a few birds from a covey each hunt for the obvious reason…anymore think that should be in regulations.Haven’t heard anyone mention weather…drought,torrential summer rains,extreme winters we’ve had all take a toll.Long story short quail don’t have a lot of friends but the good news is we’re still fortunate enough to have huntable population of wild birds…and for that we should all be thankful.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ed Godfrey, thehappyhunter. thehappyhunter said: Reader responds to quail story: “I am 69 years (old) and have been hunting quail in Oklahoma since I was big eno… http://bit.ly/ijfGwl [...]