RANCHING Wildlife
Rolling Plains Quail Counts Show Quail Explosion R
OADSIDE QUAIL COUNTS EARLIER THIS YEAR CONFIRMED to researchers at the Rolling Plains Quail Re- search Ranch, Roby, that quail numbers in the
Texas Rolling Plains are booming. “Once the roadside counts were in, our 2016 estimate
is an average of 512 birds for a 20-mile route,” says Dale Rollins, executive director for the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch (RPQRR). “That’s about 10 times the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) counts for the same area.” Rollins says the RPQRR routes and counting meth-
odology vary from TPWD census protocols, but each method points to the same conclusion: The bobwhite quail has made an astounding comeback since their historically low numbers earlier this decade. In the Rolling Plains ecoregion, TPWD recorded 50.2
birds on their 20-mile census routes. These numbers, according to the department’s annual quail forecast, are the highest number of quail recorded since 1971. Rollins credits the ranch’s adherence to sound man-
agement practices as a reason for the increase. While abundant rainfall has helped their cause, he says that the increase can’t entirely be credited to more moisture. “We’re perhaps 30 percent below the ecoregion
mean,” says Rollins. “As of Sept. 30, we were sitting at 17.7 inches or rainfall at the ranch. We’ve made the best of what rain we’ve received.” Early in the year, researchers at the ranch indicated
68 The Cattleman December 2016
that quail numbers would indeed be higher. According to Lloyd LaCoste, RPQRR ranch manager, helicopter and call counts this past spring showed numbers to be appreciably higher than in the past. Each spring, data is taken using the exact same methodology so that data collection efforts are consistent from year to year. “We conduct spring call counts at 25 “mile markers”
spread across the ranch,” says LaCoste. “We count the number of ‘bobwhite’ whistles that we hear as well as the number of individuals calling.” LaCoste says they also count scaled quail calls and
their numbers are recorded as well. Counts are con- ducted twice weekly at each mile marker for 5 minutes. “Typically we hear about 10 whistles per cock per stop. This year our number of whistles per cock per stop was higher than normal and we had the highest number of birds that we have recorded calling. March helicopter counts showed an increase as well.
In 2013, only 2 coveys were detected. By contrast, in the spring of 2015, 32 coveys were detected from the helicopter counts and by spring of 2016, 199 coveys were recorded. Rollins says it’s too early to tell if this numbers will
mean a long-term rebound for the species. He says ranchers and quail hunters can enjoy the bounty and try to take the current population momentum into the ensuing years.
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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