Written by Abigail Holmes, Texas A&M NRI Extension
Associate
Edited by Amanda Gobeli, Extension Associate, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension continually strives to develop new educational content which helps Texans better manage their land for wildlife, resulting in the creation of a suite of smartphone applications for landowners. These apps provide management tips for several species of interest in Texas including wild pigs, white-tailed deer, and quail. Although the apps are fairly intuitive to use, this article will provide a step-by-step example for how to use both the Northern Bobwhite Management Calendar and the Northern Bobwhite Habitat Evaluation apps, which are now free in both the iTunes and Google Play app stores, to better manage your land for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus).
When you open the Northern Bobwhite
Management Calendar, the home screen displays a grid of twelve squares, with
each labeled as a month of the year. At the bottom of the page are two tabs labelled
“Introduction” and “Practices.” Be sure to take a look at the Introduction
first; it provides background information about the proper use of the app and
includes links to other resources. The Practices page is a convenient reference
list for all the habitat management techniques included in the app.
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| Figure 1. The management calendar allows you to select a month of the year and view which management practices should be employed during that month |
To discover the best practices to use in a
particular month, simply select the corresponding square. After you have chosen
a month, a list of management suggestions will appear on the next screen for
you to scroll through and interact with. For example, when you select the month
of July, recommendations include brush sculpting, camera trapping, habitat
evaluations, shredding, supplemental water, and grazing management. Each of
these practices has their own page which prominently displays the months in
which the practice should be implemented, step-by-step instructions on how to
carry them out, and links to additional helpful resources. The first suggestion
in July, brush sculpting, comes with a set of instructions on how to choose
suitable brush for half-cutting
to enhance wildlife habitat (Figure 2). As you browse the other months, you
will see that suggested practices change based on what quail are doing at
different times of the year, as well as how rangeland is likely to respond.
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| Figure 2. The individual pages for each management practice provide you with preferred implementation months, step-by-step instructions, and a list of additional helpful resources. |
Please note that,
while the app provides a great overview of the practices that are used to
create bobwhite habitat, a dedicated management plan may require more personalization.
Every property is different and will respond to strategies in different ways,
and this should be taken into account before making significant management
changes. Do not hesitate to contact a local natural resources
professional if necessary.
The Management
Calendar also recommends conducting “habitat evaluations” during the month of
July—a practice that helps you discover which aspects of your quail habitat
require improvement. Conducting habitat evaluations can be challenging, but we
happen to have an app to assist with that, too.
Northern Bobwhite Habitat Evaluation
The Northern Bobwhite
Habitat Evaluation app is an easy-to-use tool that helps you determine the
quality of your habitat for quail use. An introductory home page discusses the role
that habitat plays in supporting quail populations and describes the various
cover types that are essential to quail. To use the app, you must travel to the
spot on your property you wish to evaluate and visualize a one-acre plot (about
the size of a football field) which will be your evaluation area. You should
expect to repeat this process multiple times across your property to represent all the habitat types that are present
there—try not to cherry-pick spots! Below are screenshots of the pages that
follow, filled with example answers (Figures 3 and 4). You will be asked to
estimate the percentage of suitable bunchgrass nesting clumps, effective cover,
and proximity to water sources. Be sure to carefully read the instructions for
each cover type and refer to the pictures (tap the black “i" button in the
upper right corner) to learn what you should be looking for. Additionally, when
you get to the Food section, you will be asked to search for quail-friendly food plants and provide scores based on both their diversity and
distribution. The “Plant Species List” button (lower left corner) provides
plenty of examples, and the “i" button here walks you step-by-step through
the process of determining food availability.
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| Figure 3. To begin, visualize a one-acre plot for each habitat type you wish to evaluate. |
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| Figure 4. Study your acre-plot closely as you answer each question to the best of your knowledge. |
After
completing the survey, you will be provided with an evaluation score reflecting
how your property is rated as quail habitat. In areas that might need
improvement, simply touch “see recommendations” for a thorough list of ways to
improve your habitat in areas that might be lacking. For example,
recommendations on improving nesting cover include reducing grazing pressure in
areas where cover is lacking, or chemically or mechanically removing brush in
areas with cover that is too dense. For these and other management suggestions,
you can refer back to the Northern Bobwhite Management Calendar for more
details and resources on how (and when) to implement them on your land. Note
that the app will not save your habitat
evaluation score; if you wish to keep a record of it, you should write it
down before closing the application.
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| Figure 5. The final page of your evaluation will provide a habitat rating, along with recommendations on how to improve. |
Both
the Management Calendar and Habitat Evaluation App are designed to streamline
and simplify the process of quail habitat management by providing a central
location for information and resources. Whether or not you are a landowner,
these apps are an excellent learning tool for anyone who wants to further their
knowledge of quail and the best ways to create quality habitat for wildlife.