The quail are OK

bauerline

bauerline

Well-known member
I had a chance to run the dogs today and I took the good camera in case they found some birds. It didn't take them long to find a covey of the liberated quail. Here are some of the pictures I took:
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a close up of the birds they found
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There are about a dozen birds in this group.

We moved on without finding anything else and on the way back the dogs found the same covey in a different location. Blitz had a long string of drull with all the birds running through the briars.
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A picture of the area the birds were found:
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These birds have been out for a long time and are doing well. I think the birds will hang around for another 6-8 weeks before they try to pair up. That's when I'll give the dogs a break.
 
Hey....do you ever go to work! lol. Them little buggers are doing great, must be the Johny House conditioning. Love the pictures. :thumbsup:
 
Yeah, I go to work. Today is a preschool day and the preschool program is off this week, although I still worked. I ran the dogs instead of taking lunch. Just one of the benefits of working close to home and living close to the club.;) But seriously, I only need 30 minutes to get the dogs down to the club to run one lap around the grounds and get them back home before going back to work.
 
The dogs have it better than me. They get to stay home when I go to work. I'll always remember what one friend of mine said when hunting with my dogs- "If it wasn't for the lack of sex and beer I'd switch places with your dogs". I always thought that was kind of funny. Or sad.
 
like the covey shot!
are those liberated birds?
care to elaborate on your introduction project?
i think i'm understanding that's a shooting club?
 
Thanks. Yes, the quail are liberated. I start them out in a johnny house over the summer and this past year I realsed all of them by December. These birds have been on their own for quite a while now.

The club is a sportsmen's club. We can't hunt the quail but it is fun to run the dogs on them. In the spring/summer I can hear them call while I'm fishing at the pond.

We do release pheasants than can be hunted. But we must follow the state regulations for them and once the season is closed the surviving birds give another opportunity to run the dogs and get into some birds.
 
Brian, have you noticed the quail starting to pair up?
 
I found a covey at the end of March but I have not looked for them since. I don't run the dogs back there much starting in April in case something is nesting somewhere. I may take a walk in the area I saw them last but it is wet and muddy there. If I find any signs of them I'll let you know.
 
I was down at the club today talking to a couple of the guys and they said people have been seeing the quail on the edge of the road that runs along the wooded area. I think they are starting to spread out and try to pair up. I have not heard them calling this year but at least they are being seen. I do hear the rooster crowing when I'm down there fishing.
 
Keep us up to date! We will be heading to an area up by our Pheasant Camp to do an unofficial crowing count.
 
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Pheasant and quail are still being seen in the area. Males and females from both are seen together. People are also hearing the pheasants crow and the quail call. If I find any signs of nesting I will let everybody know. These birds have been out on their own for 6-7 months now and must have learned something in that time.
 
Those released birds do real well in your area, would be great if they could pull off a brood. We've been hearing a good amount of crowing, although nothing like Lynn's survey.
 
You may not see any signs of nesting and you may not see a single brood. What I found to be helpful in finding out if birds got a hatch or not is to go into the area in question in the last week of July or early August with your dogs.

If you flush 5 to 8 week old young pheasants then you will know that they probably came from your pen raised birds. Five week old pheasants can survive to adulthood without a parent if good cover and insects are available. I once flushed a brood of eight five or six week old pheasants no with adult birds in sight.
 
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