Call of the quail

FLDBRED, that would be tough to have birds 3 hours away. I guess the other option for you would be to find somebody or a club that is close to you that has land to do it. I do find it enjoyable and it's nice to have a place to get the dogs on birds 9 months out of the year, even if they are pen raised. I should be able to get the dogs out on the quail in 3-4 weeks if the weather cooperates.

I don't band them. I keep the receipt that has the PGC permit number on it when I buy them. I called the PGC before about this and that is what they told me to do.
 
Earlier in the week there was a small covey of at least 6 quail that flushed out of the edge of some woods. These were from last year's birds that have been out since March. I'm not sure if there were any young bird or if they were all holdovers. I'll have to try to find them with the dogs if/when the weather cools.
 
That's pretty neat, at this point they are as good as wild! You must feel pretty good, those are your birds, and you have done well by them. :thumbsup: In a perfect world they would nest and start a wild population.
 
It is nice to hear reports of the birds being seen. The guy who saw these birds said it scared him pretty good when they flushed. It would be nice if some of them were able to hatch a few chicks out. I'll have to wait and see what happens over the next few weeks. If I find anything I'll be sure to let you know.
 
Some more of the quail that were released in March from the JH were seen yesterday (8-25-12). They were in a small mowed area between a soy bean field and some woods. It's nice to know they are hanging on.
 
That's REALLY neat! How far from your current JH were they spotted? Any chance of them joining your current birds? :thumbsup:
 
These birds were about a 1/4 mile away from the JH I had them in last year. The area is seperated by swampy woods. I find a woodcock or two in there when hunting in the fall. After the woods there is a small section of mowed grass, just wide enough to drive a truck back. Then it is the bean field. This particular field is about 130 acres. And it is joined by other fields of corn and more beans. There is a few hundred acres of corn and bean fields with a few areas of mature woods. There are also some overgrown ditches seperating some of the fields. The second JH is closer to this area but I have not seen signs of the older birds joining the new ones yet. All my new birds are accounted for and I know the ones in the area of the bean field are from last year or from a new hatch. I figure the worst case scenario is that there are birds on the property year round and I just keep going with the JH. I know of people who heard the quail calling over the summer when they were fishing at the pond and they enjoyed hearing it.

Also, the area of the bean field that the birds were seen in is owned by the club. Well, 50 acres of it is. And this is the last year it will be rented out to the farmer. The club is looking into what program to use to get some habitat on this ground. I think they are leaning toward using EQIP but things are just getting started. The club curently has 17 acres in CREP.
 
I took a quick picture with my phone of the area that the quail were seen.
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I think things will get even better in a few years after some work is done on those 50 acres.

Sorry the pics are not the best:(
 
Ok....here's your assignment. lol Why is your small group of quail able to due so well? Is it the use of the JH ,conditioning them before final release? Your percentage of released birds to survival is awesome! Good stuff, keep us up dated.
 
I'm not sure why the birds are holding on as well as they are. I think being released from the JH allows them to get to know the area but still have some safety from the predators. I also think running the dogs on them helps make them stronger flyers. The area they are released in has some good cover year round so that helps as well. I did take the dogs back a little today and they found one pair of quail. But they got pretty hot today and I didn't stay out long. Here is a picture of Blitz:
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I've been giving your birds a lot of thought lately. The cover you released the birds in by your account is " ok" not great. Yet these birds have done exceptionally well when you consider their numbers and the percent of birds that have survived. So what is it? Well, when do the birds need the best cover...winter of course, and where were your birds in the winter, inside snug and warm, in a Johny House! Very interesting and I think we can learn a lot from such experiments!

Nice picture!
 
I believe your thinking is right. I released them in early March just before things start to green up. When the leaves started coming out I started to have less sightings. Maybe the holdovers will come back to the JH after the bean field has been harvested. I'll keep you posted on how things go.
 
I released some quail in the morning and then let the dogs run in the area to get some work. Nittany and Blitz were on a single in the switchgrass but it flushed while I was moving in for a picture. A little later they were on point in the high grass:
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The bird ran off before I was able to get in for the flush.
When I was walking around the field I saw a single flying through the woods. Nittany locked up on the edge of the woods but just like before, the bird left before I got there:
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Just a little further up Blitz was on something
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And Nittany was backing
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This time I was able to produce a single quail.

When I was walking back to the truck we found a group of quail under an old feeder that is close to one of the JH's.
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I won't be able to make it out for dove today, so this is was it for the the day.
 
Had the dogs out this evening and they had 3 finds. One pair and two singles. These are the last four that were released on Saturday. They seem to be doing well.

Blitz in some cover on a single:

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With it being as warm and humid as it is, it didn't take long to tire the dogs out.
 
I was back in the field by myself for a few mintues today without the dogs and I was able to hear quail calling from 3 different areas and I saw 2 run from the switchgrass into a soybean field. It was neat to hear and see them. I was able to get them to answer to my whistles a few times.
 
Now are these birds from a release this year or last? Did you use the same source for the Quail this year?
 
I can't be sure if they are this year's birds or not. They were in an area I have not seen them before but it is not far from the JH. I did get the birds from the same place. If this keeps up I may have to start banding or something to tell the difference. I would like to try and run the dogs again and see what they find. Some cooler weather would be helpful. I'll keep you updated.
 
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