quail sign encouraging

carptom1

carptom1

Well-known member
seeing and hearing lots of quail in eastern kansas. Driving back roads to son's baseball game tonight saw several birds, in three different spots, on road getting grit. Also saw two nice eight pointer's with antlers in velvet. Hearing a lot of quail in mornings in grass around the house.
 
We were seeing and hearing them here as well. But the storm we had Wednesday night here was bad. Just have to wait and see.
 
I ate dinner at the lake today and 6-8 bobs were calling me. Told the boss if I went on point to flush the birds and tap me on the head. The local State Representative got to hear them. If nothing else, it proves I haven't killed them all!
 
reminds me of when i was a kid growing up. We lived in a suburban area of kansas city and there was an undeveloped section of grass down the street. The area was locked off by houses on all sides. There were 2 coveys of quail that lived there for many years. My dad and I would work the dogs on them a couple times a week. Good memories. We used to hunt southeast kansas for quail many times during the season. It would usually take as long to drive there as it would to harvest a couple of limits. I do miss those days. I do get them in my bird feeders in front of the house from time to time.
 
Heard one whistling south of my house yesterday. Heard one by the Lowe's parking lot in Carthage, Missouri on my lunch break the other day. Saw a hen getting grit on the side of 160 highway, just east of Pittsburg earlier in the week.

I saw a bunch last year as well, but only went out specifically hunting them one time last year, never even got a point.

I still have to pause anytime I see or hear one though, just something soothing about it.
 
I also have heard and have saw a few birds this spring,as I did last spring.And,like you Cheesy,went out last season(about 5-6 times)and only saw 2 coveys.Neither which we shot at,too small.
As i have stated on this great fourm before,I live in Pittsburg,am 52 yrs old,so I know what the quail population should look like,boys they ain't here,and will probally never will be again.Unless the State steps in and help change the current habitat setup that we have. We can't blame the farmers,they have to make a living to.
I guarrentee(sp),if quail hunting was as big of a money maker as deer hunting is,are boys in Topeka and Pratt ,would NOT let it die the slow death that it is.
Sorry for the rant,but quail hunting is near and dear to my heart.
 
GSH Lover, my suggestion is for you to make your feelings known to those people in Topeka and Pratt. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and deer hunters squeal like a locked up bearing. Join the fray and push for balance.
 
Kentucky birds....

Great thread guys...

I have been hearing birds here in the "bluegrass"....
My job haas me traveling across much of the commonwealth and I am impressed w/ the numbers of bobs calling.

Last season (kentucky) we moved 3-5 coveys per afternoon hunt.
Best day was 8 coveys.

last season in Kansas...I thought the bird #s were down.
I hunted southeast, south central and central KS....However the pheasant pop was good to excellent...

I too must pause when I hear gentleman bob calling....It warms my soul and feeds my passion for the hunt!
 
Prairie Drifter said:
GSH Lover, my suggestion is for you to make your feelings known to those people in Topeka and Pratt. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and deer hunters squeal like a locked up bearing. Join the fray and push for balance.
Click to expand...

Trust me,I have.All I get is the run around,"it's not their fault,bad land management,"ect.The Parks and Wildlife boys claim it is all about the loss of native grasses,and to many trees.well,there is more CRP in Crawford County in the last 3 years then there has ever been,and the population seems to be still going down. I have excess to some of the best land in the county,,whole sections with excellent cover,food,hedgerows.always used to hold 5-6 coveys,and we do not over hunt. In the last three years,not hardly a bird. In fact last year,we quite hunting for them at all.Used to be we would at least try,walk the dogs,drink coffee,shoot the shit,but it is so depressing,we just about gave up.
All well,there is always next year.
 
I would say that the quail numbers were down last year as compared to the year before by maybe 50%. But the year before was one of the better years in the last 10 or so.

I have hopes for this coming season, but we have had some really heavy rains in the last couple of weeks, that may not have helped.

Here are a few pics from last season quail hunts

Dec10_16.jpg


Dec10_22.jpg


Dec10_8.jpg
 
Steve,
You sure are good with a camera! Something I need to do a better job of in the future. I also agree about the quail call and how it warms the soul. I can still remember when I was a kid, probably 10 or so and my dad and I were fishing a farm pond in Central Kansas and as we were walking he stopped me and made me listen to these birds making this funny noise. It was 25 years ago and I remember it like yesterday, standing there next to him listening to them for the first time.
I was coaching a baseball game in Salina about a month ago and while the boys were warming up I heard some quail calling behind the right field fence. Gotta love Kansas!
 
KansasGsp said:
Steve,
You sure are good with a camera! Something I need to do a better job of in the future. I also agree about the quail call and how it warms the soul. I can still remember when I was a kid, probably 10 or so and my dad and I were fishing a farm pond in Central Kansas and as we were walking he stopped me and made me listen to these birds making this funny noise. It was 25 years ago and I remember it like yesterday, standing there next to him listening to them for the first time.
I was coaching a baseball game in Salina about a month ago and while the boys were warming up I heard some quail calling behind the right field fence. Gotta love Kansas!
Click to expand...

The fields in Salina out by the old runway :) We haven't played there yet this season, but I have heard them there many times.

I started taking picture during hunting and training so that I make Ace stand his birds longer. I think he gets a little tired of me taking pictures rather than getting in there and doing my job flushing the birds.
 
"good" will always be a relative term. Talking to my grandfather, my "good" days would have been a fair day in the mid '60s in SE Kansas. It will NEVER be what it once was. Land is not used the same. Period. ODWC in OK and KDWP in KS can do whatever they want with quail management, but it will take a massive shift in land use practices (private land owners) to bring back the glory days.

Go ahead, someone tell me to never say never. It would be a great thing if I'm wrong.
 
akp said:
"good" will always be a relative term. Talking to my grandfather, my "good" days would have been a fair day in the mid '60s in SE Kansas. It will NEVER be what it once was. Land is not used the same. Period. ODWC in OK and KDWP in KS can do whatever they want with quail management, but it will take a massive shift in land use practices (private land owners) to bring back the glory days.

Go ahead, someone tell me to never say never. It would be a great thing if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

I agree that the bird numbers are way down from where they used to be. I have hunted some of the same areas since the late 70s. Back then I would consider a 4-5 covey afternoon a barely OK outing, now it is a good day :(
 
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