Where Have All the Quail Gone?
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quail pub layout.qx 5/16/05 2:45 PM Page 1 Where Have All the Quail Gone? The Texas Quail Conservation Initiative: A Proactive Approach to Restoring Quail Populations By Improving Wildlife Habitat quail pub layout.qx 5/16/05 2:45 PM Page 2 Compiled Under the Direction of the Texas Quail Council by the Quail Technical Support Committee: Ernest Angelo and Charles Elliott Co-Chairs, Texas Quail Council and Leonard Brennan Chairman, Quail Technical Support Committee as part of the Texas Quail Conservation Initiative Authors and Contributors (alphabetically): Leonard Brennan, Steve DeMaso, Fred Guthery, Jason Hardin, Chuck Kowaleski, Scott Lerich, Robert Perez, Mike Porter, Dale Rollins, Mike Sams, Tamara Trail, and Don Wilhelm Editors: Robert Perez, Quail Program Leader, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Tamara Trail, Director of Education, Texas Wildlife Association Dale Rollins, Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist, Texas Cooperative Extension Mike McMurry, Director, Endangered Species Program, Texas Department of Agriculture Robert Macdonald, Regulations Coordinator, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Leonard Brennan, Professor and Endowed Chair for Quail Research, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Creative Design: Tim Peterson, Creative Services Branch Chief, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department © 2005 TPWD PWD RP W7000-1025 quail pub layout.qx 5/16/05 2:45 PM Page 1 PREFACE As private land holdings become smaller, wildlife habitats become increasingly fragmented. Robert Perez Dale Rollins TPWD Do you remember “the good old days?” Do you remember when quail were a common sight? You could hear bobwhites whistling in the spring. You and your dogs could move 30 coveys a day. Do you remember when we had quail... where now we have concrete? o what happened to the quail? It’s a question resource (Figure 2 on page 2). If this trend continues, everyone loses. managers hear repeatedly. Many of us remember quail These animals rely on the same types of habitats and Sas common birds. Today, in many areas of the state, quail environmental processes that provide Texans with revenue, populations are declining or restricted in their distribution places to live and recreate, water to drink, and clean air to (Figure 1). Quail populations can fluctuate wildly and are breathe. Simply stated, maintaining a healthy Texas lifestyle sometimes referred to as having “boom or bust” population means maintaining healthy wildlife habitats. swings. But such short-term population changes do not reflect the long-term downward trend of Texas quail. Since Actions are needed to halt, and hopefully reverse the declines 1980, bobwhite populations in Texas have declined at a rate of in quail and associated grassland bird species. The Texas about 5.6% per year. Scaled quail populations have declined at Quail Initiative is a strategy for managing habitat and a rate of about 2.9% per year. These numbers add up – or restoring quail populations in Texas. The plan calls for Texans down to be more correct to a 75% loss in bobwhites and a to pull together as hunters, landowners, conservation groups, 66% loss in scaled quail. Many reasons are cited for these agencies, and researchers to identify, modify, and adopt declines, but the evidence seems to point to changes in the practices and mindsets that will preserve Texas’ quail legacy quantity and quality of habitat as the leading cause. for future generations. Texas Bobwhite Quail Trends Texas Scaled Quail Trends Quail serve as a 48 20 “canary in the coal 42 18 16 mine” for a number 36 14 of other species, 30 12 including the Texas 24 10 tortoise and Eastern 18 8 6 Meadowlark, whose 12 4 Mean Number of Quail Seen Per Route populations have 6 Mean Number of Quail Seen Per Route also declined 2 0 0 dramatically over 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 the past 30 years FIGURE 1: Texas Bobwhite (1967 – 2003) and Scaled Quail (1978 – 2001) Trends Statewide populations trends for bobwhite (Sauer 1999) and scaled quail (Perez 2003).There are no reliable estimates of Gambel’s and Montezuma quail population trends. quail pub layout.qx 5/16/05 2:45 PM Page 2 Attwater’s Prairie Chicken WHY ARE QUAIL IMPORTANT TPWD TO TEXAS AND TEXANS? Red-cockaded Woodpecker When one thinks of quail, hunting Leroy Williamson Texas Horned Lizard typically comes to mind. But you do not Glen Mills necessarily have to be following a pair of pointing dogs to appreciate quail. The “bob-white” call rekindles fond memories for many Texans. FIGURE 2 Texas is one of only four states – Arizona, California, and New Mexico are Many species (such as those listed below) rely on the the others – that can boast of having four species of quail. Bobwhite and same habitat types that quail use. The following species scaled or “blue” quail are the most common species in Texas. They are are all considered to be declining due to habitat loss. ecologically, economically, and culturally important components of the Short-eared Owl Eastern Meadowlark Texas landscape (Figures 3 & 4 on pages 3 & 4). The Montezuma and Common Nighthawk Painted Bunting Gambel’s quail are found in only a few areas of the state because they have Eastern Kingbird Chuck-wills Widow Loggerhead Shrike Red-cockaded Woodpecker* very specific habitat needs (Figures 5 & 6 on page 5). Brown Thrasher Brown-headed Nuthatch Blue-winged Warbler Bachman's Sparrow Aside from their aesthetic appeal, there are significant reasons for Prairie Warbler Lesser Prairie Chicken Eastern Towhee Attwater's Prairie Chicken* conserving quail and their habitats. Stable bobwhite and scaled quail American Tree Sparrow Northern Harrier populations are an indication of healthy rangeland and forest ecosystems. Field Sparrow Texas Horned Lizard It is in the best interest of all Texans to maintain the integrity of these Savannah Sparrow Texas Tortoise ecosystems, considering the valuable services they provide (Table 1 on Grasshopper Sparrow Prairie Dog Henslow's Sparrow Black-footed Ferret* page 9). The challenge lies in how to conserve this natural diversity while Dickcissel meeting the needs of society. *Endangered In some cases, access fees for quail hunting may generate as much money as grazing leases. One segment of hunters – Texas Quail Unlimited members – spent an average of $10,354 in pursuit of quail in 1999, and 65% of those expenditures were made in the destination – i.e., rural – counties where they hunted. As wild quail have become increasingly rare in many other states, dedicated quail hunters have flocked to Texas. Sales of the non-resident five-day license required to hunt quail have increased by 263% since it became available in 1987. 2 WHERE HAVE ALL THE QUAIL GONE? quail pub layout.qx 5/16/05 2:45 PM Page 3 FIGURE 3 Northern Bobwhite WHAT HAPPENED Colinus virginianus TO ALL THE QUAIL? Although culprits such as roadrunners, raccoons, cattle egrets, skunks, hawks, weather, and especially fire ants are often blamed for the demise of quail, the fundamental reason for declining quail numbers is loss of habitat. While predation can certainly influence quail populations, impacts of predation increase as areas of habitat get smaller and are separated by longer distances. Local populations of quail on these islands of habitat are too few in number and too far from other quail to withstand catastrophic events such as floods, snow and ice, drought, etc. Therefore, isolated populations of quail have a greater possibility of becoming locally extinct. Identification: Bobwhites are the most popular and abundant quail found in Texas. Of course, these changes did not happen overnight. For more than a Both sexes have a mottled brownish back century, the lands that quail historically occupied in Texas have been and wings. Cocks have a white throat and drastically altered by human actions such as fire suppression, changing face, while hens have a buff-colored throat and forehead stripe. Their familiar farming practices, timber and rangeland management practices, and call says “bob-white”. human population growth. Natural Fire: Keeping Open Spaces Open One of the most powerful natural forces that influences quail habitat is fire. Invasive species like Eastern Red Cedar, Ashe Juniper, Mesquite and other fire-intolerant hardwoods were historically kept out of uplands by periodic fires. Nevertheless, it is ingrained in humans that fire is bad. Recollections of Smokey Bear and wildfires foster a fear of prescribed burning. Long-term suppression of fire led to the conversion of open lands to dense brush, woodlands, or forest. The planned use of fire – “prescribed burning” – can be a useful and inexpensive tool for bobwhite management, considering that bobwhites will not thrive in areas where the proportion of brush-woodland- Habitat: forest exceeds 50 percent of available cover. One of the challenges resource Mixed brush and grassland habitat types managers face is the conservation of fire-dependent ecosystems in the face of are most characteristic of the species. ever-increasing urbanization and land fragmentation. Brushy rangeland interspersed with bunchgrasses and cactus, stream courses and flood plains dotted with croplands Croplands and Timber: From Tenant offer prime habitat. In eastern portions of Farmers and Handsaws to Monster Machines its Texas range, areas that are burned Since 1945, the tenant farming system (sharecropping) was likely frequently (every 3 to 5 years) are responsible for the highest densities of bobwhite on record in east Texas. important. In drier portions of its Texas range, grazing and brush management This was an accidental by-product of basic farming techniques, which left become important management tools.