I've not gotten the opportunity to hunt a lot of quail. I'm familiar with Pheasant cover, and hunt a lot of ruffed grouse and woodcock. What does Kansas Quail cover look like? My understanding is to look for cover a bit less thick than what you would expect to find pheasant in and focus on more grassy type of terrain.
Quail Cover
- Thread starter njp158
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nwkansnative
Member
Woody draws, hedge rows, shelter belts all with food plots close. Almost like fish in that they seem to like structure. Quail will also eat weeds seeds. We killed a couple of birds opening weekend that had seeds in their craw. I have always heard giant rag weed is one of their favorites
KSBrittman
Active member
Native grass or weedy areas are some of my favorites , while I have taken birds in brome / fescue they are there mostly because they used it for escape cover .
They will need a covey headquarters with low overhead cover , fireweed patch , plum thicket , hinged over tree , old homestead with weeds etc .
some of the best habitat I have seen is where native grass with some plumb thickets next Milo stubble .
They will need a covey headquarters with low overhead cover , fireweed patch , plum thicket , hinged over tree , old homestead with weeds etc .
some of the best habitat I have seen is where native grass with some plumb thickets next Milo stubble .
Prairie Drifter
Well-known member
Quail are a low plant succession animal. The quail cover in any part of the country will be a combination of native grass, brush, and weeds. A general axiom is, if you can't see your feet, you're not in quail cover. To break that down, the cover can't be so thick that their movement is restricted or their ability to find seeds by sight is inhibited. Often, some of the best pheasant cover is poor quail cover. That is not always the case, but pheasants trend toward thick and quail trend toward more open. Quail are considered "fire" birds. Burning and grazing are big influences on their density and survival. Recent research using telemetry in Missouri has shown that grazed and burned grassland/shrubland is much more productive for quail than adjacent ungrazed or unburned grasslands. Quail are often found in woodlands and shrublands, but they must also have the other components in most areas. To evaluate, get down on your belly and look at the habitat from the bird's point-of-view. If it is open at ground level, but canopied from above, you probably are on the right track.
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Straightup82
Active member
Very good descriptions above. My only add is that in my experience chasing quail in the different parts of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, those attributes all apply, they just look or are structured differently based on the geography with Kansas having the very most variation. Excellent rule of thumb though.