“Last year was one of the best bobwhite years ever recorded in Texas,” reports Robert Perez, Upland Game Bird Program Leader with Texas Parks and Wildlife. “There were quail everywhere, especially on the rolling plains.” Hunters had a heyday.
Winter could have spoiled all that. But it didn’t. “For Texas quail, the enemy is really summer heat and drought,” says Perez. “Winter is usually not a factor in South Texas, and it was not in the High Plains either in 2016-17.”
“There are still a lot of birds out there,” says Perez. “Some places did get rain and some didn’t, and that will have an effect. But there were excellent populations to start with, coming out of winter and into spring. It promises to be another great year for bobwhites in Texas.”
Texas has a lot of quail country. For bobwhite, Perez recommends “the rolling plains from central through north-central Texas. That’s prime. Picture a wide swath from Fisher County and Sweetwater and surrounding areas, north and east to the Red River and also up the east side of the panhandle.”
“Texas has scaled quail too,” says Perez, “in true West Texas. We have strong populations, and tens of thousands of acres of public land to hunt them on. If you’re willing to suffer the harsh country and conditions, you will get your quail here.”
“The good weather here in Texas – some decent moisture – has certainly helped scaled quail populations and production. We expect good hunting this year in the Trans Pecos.”
Quail Forever will be keeping tabs on the good news going on in Texas … look for more detail in the Fall Hunt Forecast, due out around Labor Day.
Tom Carpenter is Digital Content Manager at Quail Forever.
Photo credit Kevin Paulson,
HuntingLife.com.