Yessum,
Quail numbers should be good...
Ron Henry Strait: 'Boom year' for quail possible
Web Posted: 06/17/2004 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
South Texas quail hunters, hold your breath.
Robert Perez says he has the “willies.â€
Perez is the quail program leader for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, and as part of his duties he travels the state talking with ranchers, meeting with staff and surveying range conditions.
This week, in commenting on the regional range conditions for pastures south of U.S. 90, he said:
“I get the willies thinking about the potential quail crop, how good it might be this year. I'm hesitant to call it another 1987, but I don't see much that can go wrong. It could be a boom year.â€
If you're not a quail hunter or if you weren't around in 1987, what Perez said is significant. The quail season 17 years ago was one where there seemed to be a bird behind every bush â€" and there are a lot of bushes south of U.S. Highway 90.
Perez, a LaVernia resident, first noted the potential for next season four months ago.
“I heard birds calling in February and they really got to calling in March,†he said.
Bobwhite quail call before mating, and the first major calling period came extremely early, by at least a month, Perez said.
The birds (and the bees) being what they are, the first little quail were out running with their parents in May. A second hatch this summer is a certainty. The quail have insects, cover and humidity, everything they need to survive and thrive, Perez said.
The continuing and timely rains get the credit for Perez's optimistic outlook.
“Even if it stops raining tomorrow, it won't impact the production of quail,†he said of the region.
Perez said blue quail numbers are very strong, too, but that the lush brush on the western edge of South Texas, in the Laredo area, could prove a challenge for blues.
As habitat improves in areas where bobwhite and blue quail ranges overlap, as they do around Webb County, the blue quail move out and bobwhites move in. Blues prefer more open spaces.
One other thing Perez mentioned that gives him the willies: late summer tropical weather patterns. Flooding from a hurricane can seriously impact a region's quail population.
Meanwhile, Perez said Trans-Pecos blue quail prospects are as good as they have been in a decade, and the outlook for the Rolling Plains (Panhandle) was bright in May, again thanks to spring rains, but that the region then went dry for seven weeks.
“They got off to a good start and have the potential for a good year,†he said. “Watch the heat and precipitation.â€
South Texas: The 15,200-acre Chaparral Wildlife Management Area near Artesia Wells is in extraordinary condition, said assistant manager Jim Gallagher.
The area's second year of good rains included a wet autumn and mild winter temperatures followed by above-normal spring precipitation, which, in turn, meant cooler conditions across a region known for hot weather.
“The vegetation is thicker out here than I have ever seen it,†Gallagher said.
He started seeing baby quail in April, but he said the density of the grass cover will make it difficult for the birds to move about and make a living. He suggested that ranchers with the same “problem†might rotate cattle in pastures to knock down some of the low vegetation.
Turkeys are in good shape, too, he said, and the body condition of the region's white-tailed deer is excellent as bucks put on antler growth. Fawns are hitting the ground this week, he said.
Trans-Pecos: Mike Pittman, manager of the 23,000-acre Elephant Mountain WMA south of Alpine, said his area, known for mule deer, pronghorn antelope and desert bighorn sheep, picked up 20 inches of rain in the year ending May 31. That's about 7 inches, or nearly 50 percent, above normal.
Generally, the region is still dry, with the greener pastures toward the east, nearer the Pecos River.
“The timing of the rain was good,†Pittman said. “We didn't get it all in one day.â€
He saw his first brood of baby blue quail about two weeks ago.