OT- Welcome sight-bobwhite

[vancelw]

We have had 106 degree days all week. Yesterday evening a "cold' front came through and cooled us way off - all the way down to 100 degrees.
So I decided to spend a little alone time on the old 8N and shred the pasture.

Saw a bobwhite quail scurrying to stay out of my way several times. Sure warms my heart. You hardly ever see them anymore and I can't remember the last time I heard one whistle.

Stinking fireants.

[Chas.]

Yea, I think the coyotes have pretty much had their way with them. Haven't seen or heard one here in years. Used to hear one once in a while.

[vancelw]

Yes, we have plenty of coyotes and bobcats around here, too. Not to mention the weasel family of which I think we have every member...

One thing I do have though is plenty of Whip Poor Wills and Chuck Wills Widows. They will about drive you mad some nights with all the calling.We've even had a few fireflies (or lightning bugs) this year. It's been a really long time since I've seen many of those around here.

[GoatGuy]

I understand that FIRE ANTS take a mighty toll on all ground nesting birds. I hate them miserable you-know-whats!!

[AJMD429]

No bobwhite quail around here since the 1960's and a few really bad winters.

Since then, coyotes have moved in, too, and of course more feral cats.

We had whip-poor-wills every single year from I remember in 1962 through 2007, and then zero. We used to have quite a few, and the strange thing is that from 1985 until now I don't think there are more coyotes, and in 1993 we had a terrific tornado that took down 20-30 acres of trees in the midst of still-intact woods, and created lots of 'cover' for them. No new houses built within a mile since about 1980, either.

I wonder if their southern wintering sites (Mexico?) are having environmental issues?

I thought 'fire-ants' were a strictly warm-climate thing limited to the southern states, or am I mixing them up with 'killer-bees' or something? We've always had the red and black ants here that are fairly large, build small mounds, and bite like heck. No big change in their population I can see vs. other ants, though.

[Bruce]

We have had some lean years for quail here in north Florida, until a few years ago. We are now experiencing a population growth that is amazing. They are everywhere, even in habitat that is traditionaly not quail friendly. We have the ants, coyotes, cats etc.. Hope they stay well populated.

[vancelw]

We like to blame the fireants and predators. Real reason is probably the way we keep our fence rows nowadays. They used to be all grown up with briers and brambles ( Blackberries and dewberries) and now folks keep them cleaned up. No place for the rabbits and quail to hide.

I will say we have fewer fireants this year than we have had in the past. I have heard that they don't fare well in temps less than 10 degrees F, and last winter was the first winter in a long while where we had much weather colder than that. I'd take a little more cold weather if it would actually reduce the fireants.

We also have a family of roadrunners living along the road about a mile from my house. The male is out on the road almost everytime I go by. Younger kids are always amazed when you show them there really is such a thing.

They still won't believe there really are snipe in the woods

[AJMD429]

They still won't believe there really are snipe in the woods.

My dad was an avid bird watcher, and although he died when I was young, I'd read lots of bird books by the time I was eight or ten and someone first told me we were going 'snipe hunting' one night. I told them they were nuts - that snipes didn't live in, or migrate, even close to our area, and that further, if you were going to hunt them, you'd need to do it in the day, and need a shotgun.

[Marlin32]

You are going out to shred the pasture and you wonder where the Bobwhites have gone?
Every farmer around here thinks they have a golf course and mow every single standing blade of grass. Then sit in coffee shop and bitch about the Game & Parks Dept that they aren't doing anything to bring the quail back.

Stop mowing!!!

[RIHMFIRE]

cool little birds...and tasty too...
We have a small covys around the horse ranches
but I have not heard many this year...
too many yotes!

[rangerider7]

I hear some just about every time I go to the ranch and see one once in a while. I haven't busted up a covey in two or three years. I used to hunt quail all the time and it is some my fondest memories. If they have a good rainy season up towards Lubbock, Texas I can see and hunt both blue and bobs on my niece's ranch of over 3000 acres on the Brazos river. They have so many coveys we don't even fool with singles.

[BwanaDave]

That 8N does wonders on nests. If you have land try planting some quail friendly cover on the edge. QU has some good programs for land owners and it is fun too.

[vancelw]

Marlin 32 and BwanaDave: If you can figure out whodunit in a murder mystery by reading only the first paragraph more power to you. I notice both of you are to ashamed to state what part of this world you live in, yet freely offer criticism to others about wildlife management. I wonder if you talk to your family and co-workers so bluntly. If either of you want to discuss conservation with me, I'll buy the coffee and we can talk face-to-face, like adults.

rangerider7: I hunted whitetail out in Bosque county about 15 years ago near Morgan. There were lots of quail on that ranch. At that time around here we had none. As a kid the bobwhite's song was heard all the time. I've read "experts" that say the fire-ant doesn't do much damage to them, but we never started getting fireants around here until 10 or 12 years ago-about the same time we stopped having very many quail. I cleared out a dense part of my forest and let it grow back into brush and berry vines and it has seemed to help certain species, including quail and deer.

It's funny because most of the old-time farmers used to burn off their property every year and still had birds. The difference might be that they still had grown-up fencerows and planted food crops every year ( and no imported fire ants.)

The doves are very thick this year, but I'm not much of a fan. (wrap the breast in bacon, cook, eat the bacon and toss the rest )

[Marlin32]

Live in Nebraska. Have a degree in Wildlife Mangament. Brother has PhD. Several other family members who have MS Degrees in Wildlife Biology, and PhD's in Biology. One worked for Forest Service, another for B of Reclamation.

I hunt with and am friends with several individuals both currently working or retired in the field of Wildlife Management.

I know a thing a two about Quail and upland bird habitat.

Burning grass off in the spring is a whole different ball game than shredding in August.
Here in SE Nebr, quail are not a 1/4 of what they were 20 years ago. The biggest factor is farming methods. We would still hold more birds, but the remainder of habitat is lost to the bored farmer just mowing around his fields and water ways (if any of them left) for the hell of it or "it looks nice"

[Mike D.]

The demise of most ground nesting Gallinaceous birds is due largely to modern day agricultural practices. Not only are fields planted "fence to fence", but the use of pesticides has depleted the insect population necessary for chick survival. Where we once had hundreds of pheasants there are very few. Quail, on the other hand, are thriving. Their habit of living in the riparian overgrowth along the sloughs, canals and rivers assures their well being. Pheasants like open areas and grassy fence rows which have been largely eliminated nowadays. It has gotten to the point where we don't even bother with pheasant season. In fact, It has been well over a dozen years since I have hunted them. The pear and cherry orchards that we operate are now the ringnecks last stand. It is not possible to hunt them in these closely planted tree rows, but that is where the birds seem to congregate. I never hear the roosters in the corn and wheat fields, but do hear their crowing in the orchards.

[AJMD429]

Hay has to be harvested on somewhat of a non-bird-oriented schedule, but regular pasture that just gets mowed every year or so to discourage trees can be mowed anytime, and that IS a big problem here in Indiana; most guys just mow whenever they've got the time and the weather is good - which happens to be prime time for many birds.

ALSO - dunno if it a northern-area problem or not, but around here, too many cold-season grasses are planted, which are much less quail-friendly than the native warm-season grasses, which tend to clump and leave bare areas in between.

Quail Unlimited - http://www.qu.org/ - has some good information and resources, if you're interested. Their 'Habitat Management Guide' is pretty nice - http://www.qu.org/content/habitat/habitat_mgt.pdf

In some places, disking will be impossible due to the erosion that might occur on the strip or because of shallow, rocky soils. In either of these instances mowing can be used as the alternative.

Areas mowed as travel lanes should be cut as short as possible and preferably in the fall.

With successive years of fall mowing a carpet of Kentucky bluegrass tends to invade these strips, which offers green winter browse for quail, rabbits and other animals. Also, a mowed strip covered with bluegrass is a more effective firebreak. Mowed strips should also be at least 15” wide. Mowing should be considered only as a substitute for disking where disking is not possible since a mowed