Question for Prairie Drifter

P

Point!

Member
Troy,

I drove though your part of the country yesterday. Thought about you when I passed the big brown sign!

Although I wasn't hunting, I pulled off the road in a couple of spots between Dodge City and Kingman to check the ice. Looks like you guys had a good 3/8" to 1/2" inch in spots. Although the weather wasn't terribly cold, this is/was a very prolonged storm. Looks like much better weather tomorrow for all of us.

While the ice didn't hit every part of the state, it hit much of it. What's your opinion on the impact on the quail for areas that received ice?

Point!
 
The fact that it is running on so long is a negative for sure, but the fact that it's been fairly warm will make it less of a problem. If it had been in the teens or digits with this it would have been much worse. With temps in most of the ice footprint being 27-31, it won't be as bad. We're in day 4 now and should see some serious melting today. A lot of what was on the ground broke up yesterday and last night. I think a diligent bird can keep his craw full. Some areas will be worse, but here I think most of the moisture came as liquid and that's lucky as we got over 2 inches with this. My overall guess is that there will be limited loss with this storm.

I do have at least 2 holes in my house roof and the limbs are still falling.
 
What type of break do the quail need now? Precipitation stops today. Give them a day to feed before hunting? Hunt Wednesday?
 
I don't think that this stressed the roosters that much. The quail may have lost some body condition, but this week looks like it is back to warm and open for them. I don't think I would break them up much after 3 in the afternoon, but I really don't think that our impacts will add much to their stress level. I do think that an area from Great Bend east may be in worse shape and that might change the diagnosis, but you'll just have to make a judgment call and tread lightly. For me, this ice coating on the ground makes me concerned for the dog's feet and that is enough to keep me home on days like Saturday and Sunday. I've seen the ice really rough on their eyes and mouth as well. Better days to bother the ducks and geese than the birds when it's a sheet of ice. Another thing to consider is that while this ice is melting it is going to be hard for the birds to stay dry. If your dog is soaked, you might want to avoid pushing into quail habitat and focus on roosters. Their higher body mass to surface area ratio makes them more resilient to the wet and cold.
 
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It was a belt several counties wide that ran from Pratt to Sedgwick north-northeast to Nebraska. Great Bend was hit hard as was Hutchinson.
 
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