My favorite game by quite a margin. Well to be honest,I injoy all type hunting but prefer following pointers and following pointers is no fun without quail. Bobs were plentiful in N.E. Texas until late 70s then poof,none since. I also blamed fire ants but while doing vollinteer work to save Horned Toads, I came to a different conclusion. The few toads that remained in Tx were in pockets where fire ants had never been a problem. I then noticed those same pockets held a population of Bobs. Proof enough that fire ants contributed to the demise of quail,right? Not really,let's look closer. Along with quail and toads,these pockets also had Red Hearvester Ants which had disappeared everywhere else. Toads are highly dependent on Red Harvesters as a source of food. Harvesters depend on seed as food and establish a relationship with plants to increase seed production. Quail not only forage seed plants favored by ants but get needed cover,especially for chicks. Since toad project began,they have slowly increased numbers and broadened their range. A large part of toad effort revolve's around bringing Harvesters back. Reestablishing harvesters require's elimination of fire ant control efforts and dramatic reduction of some other insectacides and herbasides. When that happens,fire ants are no longer a problem and quail usually follow. That's only the tip of the iceberg and started when tons Mirex was dumped from cargo planes in 70s.
Not far Southwest in Dilly and Catula,there were so many quail in the 70s you couldn't tell when you went from one covey to the next. On covey rise,we shot,marked where our birds fell then held our fire as singles or other coveys rose as we walked to pick up dead. Unlike places in my post above,that area was a perfect ecosystem. Abundant skunk,coon,rabbit,coyote,bob cat and rattlers. So many rattlers everyone discouraged using dogs. Conventional wisdom says eradicating varmits is neccessary to increase small game and bird populations. That area proved different.
I realize I might have made it sound like hearvesters are the key but they are only one of a few creatures that signal healthy enviroment. Roadrunners are another bird that disappeared overnight but has been making a recovery. East Texas dealt quail an extra blow with the introduction of Coastal Bermuda. It doesn't produce seed and quail can't even walk through it. Sorry pasture land is usually good quail habitat. Part the top of Broomweed infested pasture and notice how open and clean ground is underneath. That's exelent cover that's easy to walk through,good insect hunting,cover from both ground dwelling and flying preditors,plus seed just a neck streatch above.
