Drought and reduced cover - Example

SetterNut

SetterNut

New member
I got out today and hunted a spot that I have hunted for many years. I was shocked how short the grass was. So I took a picture in the same spot that I had taken one when Ace was a young pup.

Three years ago. My son walking in on a covey of quail.
Nov09_9.jpg



This season, didn't see any bird in the area.
Nov2012_2.jpg
 
Amazing what a little rain can do. Also what haying will do.

I hunted yesterday all day on a flint hills ranch that has some of the finest quail habitat around and saw zero birds. In years past I would get into 3-4 coveys in a morning hunt. Closest thing I saw to a quail was a quail feather that somehow ended up on the dogs collar.
 
I sure hope something turns around. I'm a waterfowler at heart and will hunt those over anything but quail come in a very close second!

I have a lot of good memories hunting in SE KS with my cousins on their farms when I was much younger. Lots of quail back then and my dad and them would tell me that what we saw today was nothing compared to the
60's down there. That was in the late 70's and and they were complaining then about the declining quail populations. :(
 
It may look grim now, but there may be hidden side benefits to this drought and the mismanagement that has taken place during. Many of the grassland parcels that were leaning toward being too heavy with grass have been impacted to the point that there should be a significant forb response and the grass portion of the plant community should be set back. This should give us several years of improved brood-rearing habitat with adequate nesting cover still available. What we don't need is a significant snow or ice event during this period of limited cover and food. An event like that could really set us back!
 
Prairie Drifter said:
It may look grim now, but there may be hidden side benefits to this drought and the mismanagement that has taken place during. Many of the grassland parcels that were leaning toward being too heavy with grass have been impacted to the point that there should be a significant forb response and the grass portion of the plant community should be set back. This should give us several years of improved brood-rearing habitat with adequate nesting cover still available. What we don't need is a significant snow or ice event during this period of limited cover and food. An event like that could really set us back!
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Ive said that a couple times here. Preach on. Just hope as you said that there are no major winter storms and Mother Nature does not turn the oven on to cook a 3rd summer in a row.
 
SetterNut said:
I have been seeing about 1 covey a day or every 4-5 hours.
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Thanks for posting the pics. We've hunted in a different county each time we've been out. I've seen decent cover in 2 of those counties. The other 3 look pretty bad. We only saw birds in one of the areas with decent cover. I should've said 2 counties with cover potential. Where the grass/weeds were allowed to grow, it was thick. It seems every county I've been to or driven through was hayed intensively.

Today was our second bone-dry-run of the season. We saw some real nice cover while hunting inside the fence at Jeffery Energy Center this morning. However, we did not see any quail or pheasants. Coyotes seem to be doing well and there are plenty of snow geese moving.

We hunted up by Frankfort Friday. Didn't see a single upland bird. There is a little bit of decent cover up that way. I'm sure it's much thicker on a "normal" year. We saw 3 other groups of bird hunters at the cluster of 8 or so WIHA parcels. We heard 1 shot in 4 or 5 hours.
 
We hunted near Wilson Lake for 2 days and the cover was great but saw only one hen. I thought maybe that near the lake the birds could get to water. Thats what I get for thinking.

zeepo
 
Hunted some private ground in Edwards county yesterday. It was just me and my two kids (14 and 11). It was the 11 year old's first time. So, we only hunted 3 spots-3 individual "corners" of grass around 3 different center pivots. We flushed one pheasant from each corner, but no shots were fired. The 11 year old would have had a shot at one of them, but he was unloaded at the time. The dog did point a coyote. The cover was good...

After that I drove around to look at what little WIHA there is in the area. Where it wasn't hayed, the cover looked good...
 
Zeepo said:
We hunted near Wilson Lake for 2 days and the cover was great but saw only one hen. I thought maybe that near the lake the birds could get to water. Thats what I get for thinking.

zeepo
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we went there early sunday morning zeep we walked this stuff higher than our heads hard yellow stuff? about 20 blew out but no shots, that was my first time there i liked the area i think closer to home than that we can do just as good
 
KsHusker said:
Ive said that a couple times here. Preach on. Just hope as you said that there are no major winter storms and Mother Nature does not turn the oven on to cook a 3rd summer in a row.
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Amen! You know what you're talking about prairie drifter.
 
Jeffries energy center has the best nicest tallest grass of anywhere. They luckily dont have to try to feed cattle so it doesnt have to be hayed. I love hunting that place and some of the areas near there have a nice mix of quail and some of the best woodcock numbers I know of. I like shooting those little buggers too.
 
swellcat said:
A Kiwi friend called them "wee jiggers". Struck me as both descriptive and funny.

The upcoming cold should push the wee jiggers on south.


Bécasse d'Amérique by guizmo_68, on Flickr
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They are cool little birds with a strange flush. They hold super tight, and when flushed will go straight up in the air like a helicopter about 5 or 6 feet then fly forward. They are a pretty bird but have delicate, thin skin. I'm getting one mounted this year that I shot on the opener of pheasant season. Taxidermist said they are very hard to work on because of the thin skin.
 
It was asked of me where woodcocks can be found and in short I usually find them to be more of a woods or woodlot bird and find them when I am looking for quail. I have had them hold for a flush as well as shot them if sitting in one spot after seeing one or two flying overhead. I really dont know when the best time of the season is for them but I have not seen them yet this year, and I have been watching close for them where I usually see them near home.
 
Ive been told to watch the Robin migration since they eat basically the same thing. Yesterday we had quite a few robins move in to the area. Don't know if there is anything to it or not.
 
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