TN VALLEY AGRICULTURE AND OUTDOORS: Quail a victim of shrinking habitats

Published 8:00 pm Sunday, March 24, 2019

The wild population of bobwhite quail has suffered a severe reduction of habitat in the last 50 years, and numbers of quail have steadily declined.

There are several factors that led to this decline. Quail are ground nesting birds, so they are subjected to intense pressure from a host of predators.

Predators such as skunks, raccoons, snakes and possums eat quail eggs. It has been recently determined armadillos also attack quail nests.

Add to this an increase in the population of hawks and owls, and you can see how hard it is for wild quail to raise a brood. An old publication on quail management named the Cooper’s hawk and the Sharp-shined hawk as the only two birds that do more harm than good as far as quail are concerned. However, it is now illegal to harm, hurt or shoot birds of prey in any way.

Modern agriculture, while the model for productivity and efficiency, has reduced the amount of fallow land and important cover features like fence rows. Wild quail need fallow land to raise their broods.

For example, a field that grew cotton or corn the previous year, if left fallow the next season, will grow an excellent crop of weeds and other beneficial plants for quail. As soon as a brood hatches, adult quail will take their young into these fallow fields and keep them there for up to six weeks. Fallow fields have up to 300 percent more insects than other types of fields and the protein that insects provide is very important to young quail.

Other important habitat has been planted into pine plantations. Modern forestry, like agriculture, leaves little for quail to live on.

At one time, there were millions of acres of longleaf pine growing in the Southeastern United States. Longleaf was prominent because fire was a routine and very natural part of the overall environment, and longleaf pine actually needs fire to survive.

When fires began to be controlled, areas that were ideal for quail soon became overgrown with hardwood trees and other brushy plants.

In order to manage land for wild quail, a significant commitment from the landowner is necessary. Most landowners are unwilling to do this because it involves some pretty drastic changes.

First, the number of trees per acre must be reduced dramatically. For a forester, this is inefficient forestry.

Second, agricultural fields should routinely be left fallow and fence rows and field edges allowed to grow up. For a farmer, this is inefficient farming.

Small patches of food crops such as peas, corn or soybeans should be planted and left to provide some supplemental food. For a gardener, this is inefficient gardening.

A diverse habitat where fire is a natural part of the overall environment, at least every three years, is essential. For most landowners, this is inefficient.

However, if wild quail is the goal, these things will enhance and promote good habitat, and that is the key to wildlife management.

— Chapman is a Regional Extension Agent.