Snapshots from across quail range
By Chad Love
Quail are intrinsically tied to weather and habitat, but with six widely dispersed native species that span the entirety of the nation, it’s very difficult to make general range-wide summaries about how quail came out of this past winter and how they are going into the crucial spring and summer nesting season.
Still, by analyzing snapshots from across quail range, a broad picture can be painted of how various regions are faring, and like most years when it comes to quail, there’s both good and bad. Some regions saw mild winters and decent nesting habitat as we go into nesting season, while other regions continue to suffer from a lack of moisture and sparse nesting cover.
Read on for regional summaries or click on the map to jump ahead.
East
East
A MILD WINTER AND GOOD OUTLOOK FOR SPRING
Generally speaking, conditions and nesting cover (where good habitat occurs) in the Southeast this winter and thus far this spring are aligning for a decent nesting season.
“We had a relatively mild winter in Georgia and overwinter survival should be decent,” says Dallas Ingram, state quail coordinator for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “Late winter was dryer than normal and some areas were in a mild drought but we are starting to get some spring rains. Adequate rainfall and good overwinter survival could help turn around numbers in parts of South Georgia that saw declines last year due to late-season drought.”
The story is largely the same in both Florida and South Carolina, with mild winters and decent condition going into spring in areas of suitable habitat.
“Overall, Florida experienced favorable weather conditions throughout most of the winter resulting in above average over-winter survival’” says Greg Hagan, quail biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “On areas implementing quality bobwhite management, the habitat is in excellent conditions. As such, birds should be well positioned going into the breeding season. Barring any untimely or unforeseen weather events, we are anticipating good nesting and brood rearing success.”
“South Carolina should be looking pretty good. Everything thing that I heard from hunters was positive,” says Michael Hook, small game program leader for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. “Most seemed to have had a good year with good numbers seen statewide. We had a mild winter and it was dry so the remaining birds should have fared well. If we can get some timely rain going into breeding season to get the plants up and going we should be sitting pretty this summer. Then we have to hope for a lack of hurricanes and tropical storms this coming fall.”
Virginia, too, is seeing some hopeful signs for a second good year of bobwhite nesting success, despite some fairly heavy winter weather.
“Virginia had a successful summer breeding season for bobwhites and numbers going into fall were good,” says Marc Puckett, wildlife biologist and small game project leader for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. “Our winter was mild until January 1st and then it became winter overnight, from 70 to the teens, with heavy wet snow and high winds. It varied by geographic region, but caused heavy power outages in the northern and northeastern parts of the state. “
Puckett says that storm was followed by several other rounds of snow and ice, but he doesn’t consider it an issue for the spring breeding population. “In our coastal plain counties, which make up our best quail lands, the situation was not as severe. Our quail hunters reported having a good season overall, and due to the bad weather, hunting pressure was light. The weather never was severe enough to force woodcock further south, they were still able to find thawed ground in lowgrounds. All things considered I think our spring quail population is normal.”
The bobwhite quail always lives on the knife-edge of survival on the edges of its northern range, and across the northern tier, winter conditions always dictate how many quail survive into spring, and this year was no different. Ohio is a perfect representative of this annual roller-coaster.
“Winter started out mild but February brought on prolonged cold temperatures with snow and ice across much of the state,” says Cody Grasser, Ohio state coordinator for Quail Forever. “The quail range in southern Ohio experienced a lot of variability in the depth and duration of snow and ice, making spring bird numbers difficult to predict. What we do know is that great habitat is key to quail surviving extreme winter weather events and we are hopeful that birds were able to find such refuge when needed. We continue to assist landowners with the best quail habitat management practices to ensure great habitat is available and we look forward to a good nesting season.”
Central
Central
LACK OF MOISTURE IS CONCERN HEADING INTO SUMMER
Pivoting west into the heart of the central plains quail range, and the story begins to change and get more complicated. A snapshot from two of the primary wild bobwhite states, Oklahoma and Texas, reveals that moisture — specifically a lack of it — is a big concern going into summer.
“Winter can be a difficult time for upland species like quail,” explains Tell Judkins, upland game biologist with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “Weather events like ice and snowstorms can make it difficult to forage and find seed. This winter here in Oklahoma we have seen our share of severe winter events ice and snow made their appearance on top of abnormally dry conditions that plagued hunters throughout the season making birds more difficult to find. During winter, we see the population of quail dip annually to its lowest point of the year before spring breeding season raises the population back and the cyclical population cycle begins again.”
According to Judkins, this spring 92 percent of the state is in some form of drought and almost 57 percent is in the extreme or exceptional categories. “Moisture is greatly needed across the state,” says Judkins. “Remember, April showers bring May flowers... and quail!”
The story is much the same across the sprawling expanse of Texas, where drought refuses to lessen its grip across wide swathes of the state.
“Drought conditions in much of the state continue to worsen and it appears to have nesting on hold,” says Quail Forever Texas Regional Field Representative Dustin McNabb. “The panhandle and southern rolling plains have received little to no rain in recent months, and it does not appear that will change anytime soon. Portions of north and east Texas have received rainfall recently which should improve nesting conditions there, but we're still hearing reports of loose coveys that have not paired up yet. South Texas had good carry-over birds in pockets but again, lack of rainfall may set nesting back a bit going into mid-spring.”
West
West
EXTENSION OF DROUGHT-LIKE CONDITIONS
When it comes to quail, there is perhaps no region as dependent on the often-capricious whims of timely rain as the west. Rains make or break seasons, and much like the situation on the southern plains, the theme this year is drought. Arizona and New Mexico, two of the most popular western quail states, are good examples of the current climatological issues facing the regions quail numbers.
“Winter rains were sporadic this year in Arizona, with less than normal precipitation over most of the state, which is an extension of the drought-like conditions we have seen the past few years, “ says Al Eiden, Quail Forever West Region Director of Field Operations. “Overwinter survival is about the same as last year, which means a lower-than-average year for the desert birds, Gambel's and scaled.”
For Mearns quail, Eiden says last winter’s habitat conditions were good, but the number of Mearns’ quail seen were low. “I would predict that overwinter survival to be above average due to the habitat conditions, but bird numbers remain fairly low, but I believe higher than last winter,” says Eiden.
Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Eiden says overwinter survival appears to be close to the lowest levels seen in over 20 years. “Drought condition have continued and the lack of precipitation has had a significant impact on all four quail species that call New Mexico Home (Bobwhite, Gambel's, scaled, and Montezuma). Habitat condition for all the quail species in New Mexico are below average, so quail numbers will likely take a few good years to bounce back.”
As with most things related to quail and quail numbers, every year you must take the bad with the good, and it appears — at least at this admittedly still-early stage in the game — that there’s plenty of both to go around. Things are looking not-too-shabby across much of the east and south, but the farther west you go the more concern there appears to be going into the summer.
However, if there’s one thing quail hunters know, it’s that things can change in a hurry when it comes to quail. In many places it’s still early in the cycle, and perhaps Mother Nature still has some timely rains up her sleeve. Time will tell the tale of how many whistles we’ll hear ringing out across the uplands this fall, so be sure to check back this fall for our detailed fall forecast.