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State of Quail: Bird numbers dropping and no one is sure why
By Larry Zelisko
Abilene Reporter-News
Posted February 11, 2012 at 10:40 p.m.
With so few bobwhite quail around, some hunters, such as Brooks Hagler, don't even take a shot when they come upon a covey.
"You can hunt for a long time and not find any birds and then when you do, you have a hard time squeezing the trigger," Hagler said. "I can't help but think that every bird I let go has a better chance at laying an egg and trying to get this thing turned around."
Throughout the area and across the state there are fewer quail and, as a result, fewer quail hunters.
The quail population is at a record low, said Dr. Dale Rollins, director of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch near Roby. And no one knows why.
"Everyone has their favorite theory about what's causing quail populations to decline, everything from varmints to fire ants, but none of them account for declines across the board," Rollins said.
More than 6 million quail were harvested by more than 240,000 hunters 25 years ago, according to Texas Park and Wildlife Department statistics.
However in 2009, the last year for which figures are available, only about 585,000 birds were shot by 48,000 hunters.
The number of adult quail have dropped at a rate of 3.9 percent per year from 1970 to 2009, according to TPWD's annual Bird Breeding Survey.
More...
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/feb/11/state-of-quail-bird-numbers-dropping-and-no-one/
By Larry Zelisko
Abilene Reporter-News
Posted February 11, 2012 at 10:40 p.m.
With so few bobwhite quail around, some hunters, such as Brooks Hagler, don't even take a shot when they come upon a covey.
"You can hunt for a long time and not find any birds and then when you do, you have a hard time squeezing the trigger," Hagler said. "I can't help but think that every bird I let go has a better chance at laying an egg and trying to get this thing turned around."
Throughout the area and across the state there are fewer quail and, as a result, fewer quail hunters.
The quail population is at a record low, said Dr. Dale Rollins, director of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch near Roby. And no one knows why.
"Everyone has their favorite theory about what's causing quail populations to decline, everything from varmints to fire ants, but none of them account for declines across the board," Rollins said.
More than 6 million quail were harvested by more than 240,000 hunters 25 years ago, according to Texas Park and Wildlife Department statistics.
However in 2009, the last year for which figures are available, only about 585,000 birds were shot by 48,000 hunters.
The number of adult quail have dropped at a rate of 3.9 percent per year from 1970 to 2009, according to TPWD's annual Bird Breeding Survey.
More...
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/feb/11/state-of-quail-bird-numbers-dropping-and-no-one/
