Fishin'Rod
Member
In Kansas, the fences at the property lines are one of the best habitat "edges" that the quail utilize. This is due to the cover that grows up at these boundaries. The working farmers leave this alone, as long as it is not in their way.
In my experience, if you flush a covey at a property boundary, they will inevitably fly onto the neighbor's property.
The other problem is flushing a covey at a good distance from the boundary, but in a wide-open space. The quail like to fly just past the cover at the fence line, then flare their wings and land past the fence.
The Kansas Forest Service sells "quail bundles" of seedlings to make escape cover. It includes American Plum and Serviceberry, both of which get about 6-12 feet tall in Kansas.
I would like to make my new plantings a "4-star" hotel for the quail. Hopefully, the cover at the fence boundaries will only be a 3-star hotel. (Will the quail prefer the new "hotel", even if it does not have free Wi-Fi?)
My question for the forum is this: How far in from the boundary would you place the new plantings, and at what orientation to the boundary?
Considerations are:
1.) Drawing quail from the fence line to the improved escape cover, so hunters working dogs at the fence (and inwards) will push them back onto the property.
2.) Providing an attractive haven to land behind before reaching the fence, for quail that are already on the wing.
3.) Having enough room for my tenant farmer to still do turnarounds while cutting hay with his big equipment. Also enough room to maintain safe fire-breaks.
I did much more quail hunting as a kid, than I have as an adult. I therefore find it tough to be an expert quail manager of my land, when I feel like such a novice quail hunter. Therefore, any advice from the people on the forum about improving my "hunting knowledge" would also necessarily improve my "management".
Our land is almost 300 acres in south-central Kansas. There is 95 acres of wheat (that has poor edges on three sides). There is also about 123 acres of native grass that is cut for hay. It has some scattered, old plum thickets, and a line of invasive honeylocust trees. [This is the primary target to start habitat improvement. I won't lose much (sorely needed) crop money, by making small changes in this area.]
There is also about 8 acres of "old succession" forest (by Kansas standards) that is made up of a wide shelter belt that was planted in the 1930s. There is another 15 acres of more open forest along the creek bed and around the old buildings.
There is another 29 acres that is mostly made up of small patches (3-5 acres) of native grass. This is choked with lots of invasive honeylocust trees and siberian elms. (I need to clear and burn this portion, and then start over for bird management.)
The final piece is about 23 acres of native grass that only has one good edge. It is on the "other" side of the wheat field, but frequently holds a covey of quail along the good edge.
We are in the area of Kansas that has quail, pheasants, and turkey. I would like to prioritize my management for quail, but also want to support the pheasant population wherever possible. Any advice from the forum experts would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Rod
In my experience, if you flush a covey at a property boundary, they will inevitably fly onto the neighbor's property.
The other problem is flushing a covey at a good distance from the boundary, but in a wide-open space. The quail like to fly just past the cover at the fence line, then flare their wings and land past the fence.
The Kansas Forest Service sells "quail bundles" of seedlings to make escape cover. It includes American Plum and Serviceberry, both of which get about 6-12 feet tall in Kansas.
I would like to make my new plantings a "4-star" hotel for the quail. Hopefully, the cover at the fence boundaries will only be a 3-star hotel. (Will the quail prefer the new "hotel", even if it does not have free Wi-Fi?)
My question for the forum is this: How far in from the boundary would you place the new plantings, and at what orientation to the boundary?
Considerations are:
1.) Drawing quail from the fence line to the improved escape cover, so hunters working dogs at the fence (and inwards) will push them back onto the property.
2.) Providing an attractive haven to land behind before reaching the fence, for quail that are already on the wing.
3.) Having enough room for my tenant farmer to still do turnarounds while cutting hay with his big equipment. Also enough room to maintain safe fire-breaks.
I did much more quail hunting as a kid, than I have as an adult. I therefore find it tough to be an expert quail manager of my land, when I feel like such a novice quail hunter. Therefore, any advice from the people on the forum about improving my "hunting knowledge" would also necessarily improve my "management".
Our land is almost 300 acres in south-central Kansas. There is 95 acres of wheat (that has poor edges on three sides). There is also about 123 acres of native grass that is cut for hay. It has some scattered, old plum thickets, and a line of invasive honeylocust trees. [This is the primary target to start habitat improvement. I won't lose much (sorely needed) crop money, by making small changes in this area.]
There is also about 8 acres of "old succession" forest (by Kansas standards) that is made up of a wide shelter belt that was planted in the 1930s. There is another 15 acres of more open forest along the creek bed and around the old buildings.
There is another 29 acres that is mostly made up of small patches (3-5 acres) of native grass. This is choked with lots of invasive honeylocust trees and siberian elms. (I need to clear and burn this portion, and then start over for bird management.)
The final piece is about 23 acres of native grass that only has one good edge. It is on the "other" side of the wheat field, but frequently holds a covey of quail along the good edge.
We are in the area of Kansas that has quail, pheasants, and turkey. I would like to prioritize my management for quail, but also want to support the pheasant population wherever possible. Any advice from the forum experts would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Rod
