northern bobwhite quail are about eight inches long with a mix of brown, black, gray, and white feathers. they build their nests on the ground and quickly dart between shrubs and bushes in the grasslands of the northern rolling plains and high plains of the texas panhandle.  

though they are small compared to other ground-nesting birds like grouse or wild turkeys, they are a keystone species and play an important role in their ecosystem.  

“quail are what i would call a canary in the coal mine for the grassland or prairie ecosystem. finding management ways to help quail is also going to help a lot of other grassland birds, which are in decline,” said dr. brad dabbert, the burnett foundation professor of quail ecology at texas tech university.  

according to the texas parks and wildlife 2023-24 bobwhite quail forecast, quail populations in the high plains of texas, the region that’s home to texas tech, were up from last year but down almost 50% compared to the 15-year average. 

counting quails

scientists perform the research for the forecast by counting all the quail seen from a vehicle on designated routes throughout the state. researchers saw almost four birds per research route this year compared to less than one last year, while the 15-year mean sits at almost seven.  

dabbert leads texas tech quail, a research program aiming to understand how to increase quail populations. he and his team conduct experiments, publish research and educate landowners and biologists.  

dabbert said quail populations naturally vary year-to-year, and one important factor is droughts, which are becoming more frequent.  

“what texas tech quail is trying to do is come up with ways to deal with the vagaries of drought. that is an old land manager saying, you know, ‘we’re one day closer to the next drought,’ and good land managers think of and try to prepare for those,” said dabbert.  

three main strategies

dabbert’s team uses multiple approaches and techniques at their field research site at the pitchfork ranch aimed at increasing quail survival. these include ensuring there is quality habitat, feed broadcasting and predator reduction.  

according to dabbert, quality habitat is the most important factor for healthy quail populations. this heavily depends on the amount of available cover, tall bushes and shrubs that grow branches from the top to the bottom of the plant. cover protects the birds from predators and extreme temperatures.   

cover can be controlled by land managers by limiting grazing to maintain existing cover and prescribing controlled burns to allow more suitable plants to grow in areas overpopulated with bad cover. 

“there’s no shortcut for managing the land correctly,” said dabbert. 

broadcasting involves driving a tractor that pulls a feeder through quail habitat and widely spreads supplemental grain and seeds for the birds.  

providing extra food increases bird survival in fall and winter, meaning there are more chances for successful breeding in spring. and it helps them find food with less foraging, which can make them vulnerable to attack from predators. dabbert and his team published their research supporting this in the peer-reviewed journal wildlife society bulletin.  

the third management approach, predator reduction, involves hunting and trapping animals that eat quail and their eggs.  

dabbert said this can be controversial because people see it as an unnatural practice. however, habitat fragmentation has caused a loss of apex predators that would normally control the populations of animals that feed on quail.  

“unfortunately, most of our environment is fragmented now. we don’t have the apex predators that we once had,” said dabbert.  

mesopredators, medium-sized predators, include animals such as coyotes, raccoons and skunks. dabbert said habitat fragmentation has allowed the populations of these animals to flourish because there are fewer apex predators to control them, especially in the heavily farmed lands of the high plains. and too many mesopredators means lower quail populations. 

by hunting and trapping mesopredators, there are more quail able to breed, and nests are more successful because eggs don’t get eaten. 

dabbert said the research his team is conducting has been successful at increasing quail numbers at their research site. according to their published results, quail survival increased by 16% in areas where they used broadcasting, compared to areas without.