By James Cash, TAMU WFSC '17
Photo courtesy of Dale Rollins
Texas’ quail populations are declining across the state and
many approaches are being considered to help reverse the decline. One seemingly
obvious way to reverse the decline of a population is to reduce the predators
that prey on the population. And what easier predator to target than ourselves?
Eliminating hunting as a mortality factor may seem like a no brainer when
dealing with a species in decline, however quail populations actually benefit
from hunting in multiple ways. Benefits from hunting range from the state and
national level to the individual property level, and it can be argued that
these benefits outweigh the costs of hunting.
Before
the benefits of hunting are discussed, the premise behind the idea that
reducing hunting increases populations will be examined. The idea that reducing
hunting will increase the size of a population is very closely related to the
idea that reducing natural predators such as raccoons will increase a
population. This is discussed in the book “On Bobwhites” by Fred S. Guthery in
his chapter titled “Death Webs.” Guthery argues that when one mortality factor
is reduced, the other mortality factors that make up a quail’s “death web” will
increase in influence. Quail populations naturally have high turn-over rates,
meaning that quail have high mortality rates and that little of the previous
year’s population carries over into the next. Eliminating one predator, such as
humans, will not change this. It is likely that when hunting is reduced,
mortality from other factors such as natural predation, old age, disease,
starvation, etc. will increase and make up for most of the quail “saved” from
hunting.
That
being said, it is important to recognize that irresponsible hunting can have
detrimental effects on a population. Whenever hunting is used as a wildlife
management tool it must be done responsibly. If hunting is so persistent that
it causes mortality way out of proportion to natural causes then it can
exacerbate the population decline problem. Self-regulation is especially important in
quail hunting. Just because the state
bag limit is a certain amount doesn't mean that that many birds can be
sustainably harvested from your property on a consistent basis. Around a thirty
percent annual harvest rate based on the estimated population is considered
sustainable (Hernandez et al. 2007). As long
as quail are hunted at a sustainable rate, the benefits gained by hunting
outweigh the cost to the population.
Hunting
benefits quail at a state and national level by garnering interest from the
public in quail conservation. Hunters
are some of this nation’s most vocal advocates for wildlife conservation, and
many donate their time and money to conservation organizations. Money spent on
hunting licenses and bird stamps, plus taxes on outdoor recreation goods, form
the foundation for many conservation programs and research. It is an
unfortunate truth that if quail were not a game species, there would likely not
be nearly as much funds devoted towards conservation programs for quail. By
keeping quail a part of this state’s hunting culture, we are also ensuring that
interest in quail conservation will continue to grow and bring in farther
funding.
 |
| The pencil is pointing towards the quail’s crop, where seeds are stored for later consumption. Photo courtesy of Dale Rollins. |
Aside
from national and statewide conservation benefits, hunting also provides
several benefits for local quail populations on individual properties. One of
those benefits is the ability for the hunter to examine the crop contents of
harvested birds. The crop is an organ just under the neck of the bird that is
used to temporarily store seeds for later consumption. Hunters can examine this
organ to look for what types of seeds are being utilized most frequently in
their area. This information can be used to create habitat management
strategies that promote the seed species that are preferred in the area.
Immature individuals have buffy tips
of their primary coverts. Photo courtesy AgriLife Extension
The age
structure of a local population is another metric that can be observed from
harvested quail. The primary coverts are
used to determine the relative age of an individual. The primary coverts are
the smaller feathers at the base of the larger primary wing feathers. In
juveniles the tips of the primary coverts are “buffy” tipped (light colored)
while in adults the feathers are a solid brown (Koerth et al.). Keeping track
of the age composition of the birds you harvested will give you an estimation
of the age structure of the local population. The age structure of a population
can be used as an indicator of nesting success and even habitat quality.
Ideally you will find that the local quail population is mostly juveniles,
about 75%. This means that the previous year was a good nesting year and had a
high recruitment rate. This in turn can be an indicator of the quality of
nesting and brooding habitat. For more information on aging quail, watch the
video “How to age a Quail”
or read the publication “Sexing and
Aging The Northern Bobwhite.”
Hunting
also serves as a convenient time to conduct covey flush surveys. When hunting,
the best indicator of population size is not harvest rate but rather covey
flush rate. If you are using flush rates as a population estimate over time
then be sure to keep as many variables constant as possible, such as how many
dogs are used, where you hunted, when in the season you hunted, weather, etc. (Rollins
et al. 2005) Hunt as much of the property as possible, focusing solely on honey
holes will skew your population estimate. Flush rates should be recorded as
coveys flushed per hour, which can then be used to find the estimated coveys
per acre. The AgriLife Extension
publication “Counting
Quail” contains more detailed information on this and other quail
population surveys.
Works Cited
Hernandez, F., and M. J. Peterson.
2007. Northern bobwhite ecology and life history. Pages 40-64 in L.
A. Brennan, editor, Texas Quails: Ecology and Management.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Koerth, B., B.
Kuvlesky, and J. Payne. Sexing and aging the Northern Bobwhite. Texas A&M AgriLife
Extension Service Publication L-2455. College Station, Texas, USA
Rollins, D., J.
Brooks, N. Wilkins, and D. Ransom. 2005. Counting quail. Texas A&M AgriLife
Extension Service Publication B-6173. College Station, Texas, USA
Guthery, F. S.
2000. On Bobwhites. 2006, reprint. Texas A&M University Press, College
Station, Texas