Tag: quail

Quail Management: Leave the Coyotes?

When it comes to quail management, proper techiniques for increasing quail populations includes predator control and habitat enhancment. However, on-going research suggests that coyotes may be beneficial to quail populations that thought in the past, at least if the preliminary results pan out. The research, which takes place in Texas, involves putting GPS tracking devices on raccoons and coyotes to find out information on their movement patterns.

To date, the study has found that female raccoons were limited to the riparian areas with dense undercover and tall trees. Quail do not inhabit such areas, so female raccoons are presumed innocent of the crime of eating and destroying quail nest. However, whether female raccons would venture into the grassland if coyotes were absent remains to be seen, because all coyotes would have to be removed to determine their response. Continue reading Quail Management: Leave the Coyotes?

Quail Management Assistance Program

In an effort to provide more comprehensive quail management assistance, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) is starting has implemented the Quail Management Assistance Program (QMAP). While no additional habitat cost-share is available through QMAP, being a QMAP participant will insure landowners are updated on available cost-share opportunities.

To enroll in QMAP, complete the application provided on the VDGIF website and follow the instructions. QMAP cooperators will be asked to provide an aerial photograph of their property, an optional e-mail address and GPS coordinates, if available. QMAP will help VDGIF establish a QMAP listserv for rapid communications with program participants. It will also provide a link for like minded landowners to work together. In addition, it will facilitate establishing a quail habitat database, helping track habitat additions as they occur throughout Virginia. Continue reading Quail Management Assistance Program

Quail and Prairie Restoration Make Front Page

Quail restoration requires habitat management 

A great story about restoring coastal prairie for bobwhite quail and other grassland species made it’s way onto the front page of the Houston Chronicle over the weekend thanks Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The story profiled Jim Willis, WW Ranch owner and founder of the Wildlife Habitat Federation, a wildlife co-op involving multiple landowners. The project shows how restoring native grasses aids not only quail, but dozens of other grassland wildlife species, including the most endangered bird in Texas, the Attwater’s greater prairie chicken.

The landowner federation is creating a seven mile long corridor connecting restored habitat on the 224-acre WW Ranch with the 10,000 acre Attwater’s Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, which offers prime habitat for quail and other species. For these reasons, the project is being upheld as a model effort, drawing diverse support from groups like Audubon Texas, Sand County Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many others. We can only hope that restoring native habitat and quail management really catches on in Texas.