Habitat: What Quail Require
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[SFX—bobwhite quail]
That’s a sound that stirs quail hunters’ souls. The season for the small bird with the lonesome song runs through February 27th.
09—This past winter we finally got some moisture. We got a spring, which sometimes we miss in Texas. We also had cool summer temperatures, When I say cool I mean less than a hundred degrees.
Robert Perez, upland game bird program leader at Texas Parks and Wildlife, says weather conditions affect success during quail season. Better weather means more food and better habitat.
19—We do a survey every year the first two weeks in August, which is called a roadside count. And out biologists across the state run surveys counting the number of birds they encounter. And these give us an average that we indicate whether or not you’re above or below that long term mean. And pretty much this year all areas are below their low term mean, but they’ve made a good comeback from where numbers were last year which was very low.
With that in mind, Perez is cautiously optimistic hunters will have a good season.
16—Be looking for places where you find quail food, the seeds that are available, whether it be dove weed, or sunflower, or ragweed. And go places where you’ve seen quail in the past. Consider the moisture. If you’re using bird dogs, it does help them to have scenting conditions. Those scenting conditions are important for them to be able to find those birds.
Find hunting information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.
The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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