By Dr. James MartinPhoto by Chad Love
A successful quail manager possesses numerous character traits such as knowledge, creativity, and patience. Couple those with financial resources, a land base, and in time the dream of waving your hat when Ol’ Sam goes on point can become a reality. But having a deep-rooted passion might be the glue that holds that all together.
What is passion in this context? A strong, barely controllable love and determination to hold that well-earned single that you shot before the frost turns to ether; to whistle along with the bobwhite call as you swing on your front porch; to watch a brooding hen chase you off from her chicks as you take your evening stroll. You must be passionate about these things.
I have visited with people that verbalized an interest in wild quail but were more passionate about making money on the property or other interests. That was their prerogative, but it won’t lead to a sustainable number of quail for hunting. At the first sign of adversity, which is bound to happen with quail management, those folks will fold in this game. Passion gets you through the hard times. Like Tom Hank’s character said of baseball in A League of Their Own, “The hard is what makes it great.”
George Copelan embraces the hard. When George emailed me about coming to his property, something about the text indicated he was serious about managing for wild bobwhites. We arranged a phone call which provided even more support that he was passionate about bobwhites. His voice was enthusiastic, he asked intelligent questions, and he spoke about wanting birds to hunt for his dogs. Like many successful quail folk, he was romantically optimistic about managing for wild birds. I had heard enough on the phone to pay George a visit.
A visit to George’s family property confirmed my thoughts — the man wants wild bobwhites. He is the quintessential do-it-yourself landowner. I noticed on the ride into the property that large clearings had recently been created out of a sweetgum and pine jungle. I assumed it was the work of a bulldozer or a large mulching machine. Nope. George, his old Ford, and a small tree-cutter. Evidently the only thing that stops that trio is the hornets and wasps.
George’s story is a common one across the bobwhite range. He loves quail hunting but doesn’t have enough wild birds on the property. The property is family owned and has been for generations—his great-father purchased the land in 1919. The property size has deceased though the generations since but is still over 1,000 acres. George isn’t an oil magnate or hedge fund manager — nothing wrong with those professions mind you — but he has a limited budget to manage the property. With this budget he has done a lot of good things including burning (mostly by himself), seasonal disking, and of course the tree cutting.
But like many properties, George’s family land is surrounded by very poor bobwhite habitat for miles in all directions. A quick glance of an aerial photograph depicts many acres of closed canopy forest. George is trying to create a bobwhite island in a sea of bobwhite despair. I wouldn’t normally be so optimistic about George’s odds of being successful but with his passion, some newfound knowledge, and cost-share support for herbicide I wouldn’t bet against him. He tells me that his ultimate goal is for him and his son to hunt birds on the place with their Brittany dogs.
And that’s why passion, above all else, is the key to being a successful quail manager on your property.
This story originally appeared in the 2022 Fall Issue of the Quail Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to be the first to read more great upland content like this, become a Quail Forever member today!