Quail Management - Reconnaissance Hunting

F

Fishin'Rod

Member
We only found one covey of quail on 300 acres this year. My old Brittany had a very tough time with the heavy cover, so I think we missed birds. Consequently, I have no idea how many quail are actually out on the land.

My question for the forum - is it a good management practice to "hunt" your quail after the season is over? Could I get out with some buddies that have good dogs and perform reconnaissance on the land?

I would like to determine how many coveys are on the land, where they are currently located, and where they prefer to go after being flushed.

I don't think it would be stressful to flush the birds in this period from the end of bitter cold up until early April when they begin mating.

I was out clearing brush last weekend and there were insects and spiders on every bit of dead wood I moved. There is also some green grass and weeds starting to poke up beneath last year's cover. I think the quail should have sufficient warmth and food to handle the stress of being flushed.

Any thoughts from the experts on the forum?
 
Fishin'Rod said:
We only found one covey of quail on 300 acres this year. My old Brittany had a very tough time with the heavy cover, so I think we missed birds. Consequently, I have no idea how many quail are actually out on the land.

My question for the forum - is it a good management practice to "hunt" your quail after the season is over? Could I get out with some buddies that have good dogs and perform reconnaissance on the land?

I would like to determine how many coveys are on the land, where they are currently located, and where they prefer to go after being flushed.

I don't think it would be stressful to flush the birds in this period from the end of bitter cold up until early April when they begin mating.

I was out clearing brush last weekend and there were insects and spiders on every bit of dead wood I moved. There is also some green grass and weeds starting to poke up beneath last year's cover. I think the quail should have sufficient warmth and food to handle the stress of being flushed.

Any thoughts from the experts on the forum?
Click to expand...

Why not just wait till spring??? The birds will be out calling & easier to get a actuall bird count vs just march a army of guys & dogs threw the land in winter just wait...

Wait till turkey season & get out & listen for quail while you turkey hunt... If the land well habitat is to thick quail are not using it I'm talking grasses they are a bird that needs fire/grazed grass areas creek crops & woody cover in close proximity. Heavy thick grass a quail can't run/walk threw is not good...

I've located lots of great quail & pheasant spots in the spring turkey season plus in some states u can run dogs in spring b4 nesting gives u a great idea if wear & how many birds are in a given area...
 
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SMO,

Thanks for the response. I should have mentioned my location is south-central Kansas.

When the upper Midwest gets big spring snow storms, it usually means warm, moist, Gulf of Mexico air has pushed north of us in Kansas. We have had very mild late January/early February weather this year.

My hunting skills are similar to several other members of the forum that have made joking comments - I find way more quail when I have a chainsaw in my hands compared to a shotgun.

I do see and hear more quail in the spring when I am working, but I don't take my dog because she likes to "help" too much around the brush cutter or chainsaw.

My idea was to "hunt" them now, so I could gauge the birds' responses in a season that is still similar to the actual hunting season. I wanted to increase my knowledge, because I feel like such a poor hunter when I take kids out during the season and fail to find birds.
 
Fishin'Rod said:
SMO,

Thanks for the response. I should have mentioned my location is south-central Kansas.

When the upper Midwest gets big spring snow storms, it usually means warm, moist, Gulf of Mexico air has pushed north of us in Kansas. We have had very mild late January/early February weather this year.

My hunting skills are similar to several other members of the forum that have made joking comments - I find way more quail when I have a chainsaw in my hands compared to a shotgun.

I do see and hear more quail in the spring when I am working, but I don't take my dog because she likes to "help" too much around the brush cutter or chainsaw.

My idea was to "hunt" them now, so I could gauge the birds' responses in a season that is still similar to the actual hunting season. I wanted to increase my knowledge, because I feel like such a poor hunter when I take kids out during the season and fail to find birds.
Click to expand...

1 good thing is quail don't migrate or travel distance like pheasant so if u find em in spring they will be there this fall...

I guess I just don't see the value in going out chaseing quail in the winter months after the season. . probably don't hurt much either unless ice cold rainy type conditions in the forecast I'd still say go in spring b4 nesting... But your call some get the winter itch worse then others...
 
SMO,

You're right - I really do have that "itch", but the itch is not to go hunting - it is to improve my land.

My main interest was to check their flush responses, so I could plan my quail management spring plantings accordingly.

I think I will start a new post on that topic, so I don't thread-jack myself.
 
Been awhile since I was out there, but plantings are one of the most expensive and least productive management practices to start with. If I recall, you had quite a bit of grass with woody motts and fingers out into it and a creek running through the property with riparian woodlands. You were haying the grassland and it was quite thick at ground level with smooth brome intrusions. In order to produce more quail, improving the nesting habitat and increasing the brood-rearing habitat are in order. Woody cover is useful as escape cover, but provides little in the way of producing birds. Getting the broadleaf forbs going and opening up the grass stand so that chicks can move freely without getting too wet from dew is critical. Changing what you plant in the cropland on the south end of the property or how it is harvested could cover the winter food caveat and grazing would increase both the quality of the nesting habitat and brood-rearing component while still providing you an income from the property.
 
Thanks for the additional input PD!

Prairie Drifter also responded to an email that I previously sent to him outside of the forum. I wanted to add his replies to the forum knowledge base.

In response to my question about stressing the quail by flushing them after hunting season, Prairie Drifter said,

"Quail are quite low on the food pyramid. As such, their life revolves around surviving both predation and natural stressors. Like most things in life, you can have too much of about anything and too much stress can kill birds. However, one covey flush wouldn't qualify as that. Knowing how many quail you have is paramount to knowing how many you might harvest. Now that the season is closed, knowing how many you have might not be that important."


Our farm is only about 14 miles away from Prairie Drifter's management area. He previously did me a big favor by performing a walking survey of my ground. In response to my question about what management steps I should take on my specific piece of land, PD said,

"With your habitat, getting cattle on the ground is the most economical and productive management practice you can do. Managing quail is all about providing maximum "useable" space. Heavy, thatched native grass stands are marginal useable space. It can be used for thermal and escape cover, but lacks the food and ease in mobility to function in many other life needs for quail. Grazing stresses the grass, allows some forbs to exist, and creates the mosaic of cover types quail need to function across every acre you have. Add to that some selective removal of raptor perches and you could easily multiply what you have now by several times."
 
I run my dogs on my place all year with the exception of when the quail are nesting and the chicks are to young to fly off.

Nothing like a good pointing dog quail inspection.
 
SetterNut,

When you run your dogs, is the primary goal quail inspection, or dog training?

How do you train them on the covey flush - shoot a cap gun, or just tell them "good dog"?
 
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