No Birds in North West Georgia?

[Richard Morrison]

Here in NC wild quail are virtually nonexistant.

We too have plenty of predators including coyote. In spite of this, the turkey population is growing. We have open season on them in all 100 counties.

Some of my from quail hunter friends believe the turkey population has contributed to the quail disappearance. The thought is that turkeys search all day for food. A nest of quail eggs would be a treat. I haven't been able to get a wildlife biologist agree to this.

[Labowner]

I have deer hunted up state NY for a few years and have heard the locals refer to the turkey as a ground vulture, that said the new one around here is they are having a impact on the grouse, I think they are just filling in the void. I would say for the Grouse it's equal parts of lack of prime habitat, ground and winged predator's, and the fact that they unable to adapt to suburbia. All they have to do is learn to eat out of the local bird feeder if not they will probably go the way of the Black duck, where the Mallard has done well invading any park pond they can find.

Simple adapt or go the the way of the Dodo

[Dean Romig]

I have not witnessed any impact of the turkey on ruffed grouse populations where I hunt in Vermont. It is very common to see flocks of turkeys there numbering over 100 at certain times of the year but normally about two-dozen at any time. We can kill two bearded birds in the spring hunt and one of either sex in the fall. The ruffed grouse populations there seem to fluctuate in accordance with the hawk and barred owl population and this, I believe, is the standard throughout the range of the ruffed grouse.

[Big D]

Bruce - Do your New England grouse populations cycle on a 7 year rhythm? That's the norm here in Michigan. This year was supposed to be on the high peak, but most people I know (except Jay Gardner, and who could ever question his veracity?) found birds to be scarce this year. No one understands the reason for the cycle, but even the DNR professionals concede that there is a cyclicality to grouse.

[Gerald McPherson]

This morning I saw a large hawk with a dead crow and 2 other crows chaseing him as he flew away. I too have always heard it said that the quail numbers did reach a max every 10 years. I am sure that the quail has evolved over the years in their reactions. 40 ago years I remember seeing them fly a short distance set their wings and go down but over the years they will now fly a quarter of a mile or more. I once flushed a covey in some cleared land that went out of sight over a distant hill and as I followed them I met a dear hunter and ask if he saw them come over the hill. He said yes. I asked where they went down and he said they didn't they were still going when they went out of sight over the next hill. I saw a rabbit while rabbit hunting with dogs in South Georgia come out in a field edge and run several hundred yards before going back in the brush. I think mabe that was how he had survived the coyotes. They don't seem to run in small circles anymore.
I have decided to give up trying to hunt wild quail. Yesterday I sold Scooter to a hunting preserve. He will see more birds there in a day than he would in a year in the wild. It was sad for me but it will be much better for him. I will still shoot the crap out of doves and crows and anything else that I think might hurt the quail. Happy New Year Everyone. Gerald

[Gerald McPherson]

I saw a flock of 26 turkeys this morning grazing along a field edge. The area they covered as they went along was about 30 yards wide. If they do indeed eat quail eggs it would be hard for them to miss being out there seven days a week 365 days a year. I can see how they could do a lot of damage. Over a few years that would wipe out many a covey. I also saw a coyote coming out of a Wendy's parking lot Thursday night. I heard there was a pack of them in Walmart's parking area the next day. Good Grief!!!!
Gerald

[Old and Reliable]

[QUOTE=Gerald McPherson;10242]This morning I saw a large hawk with a dead crow and 2 other crows chaseing him as he flew away. I too have always heard it said that the quail numbers did reach a max every 10 years. I am sure that the quail has evolved over the years in their reactions. 40 ago years I remember seeing them fly a short distance set their wings and go down but over the years they will now fly a quarter of a mile or more. I once flushed a covey in some cleared land that went out of sight over a distant hill and as I followed them I met a dear hunter and ask if he saw them come over the hill. He said yes. I asked where they went down and he said they didn't they were still going when they went out of sight over the next hill. I saw a rabbit while rabbit hunting with dogs in South Georgia come out in a field edge and run several hundred yards before going back in the brush. I think mabe that was how he had survived the coyotes. They don't seem to run in small circles anymore.
I have decided to give up trying to hunt wild quail. Yesterday I sold Scooter to a hunting preserve. He will see more birds there in a day than he would in a year in the wild. It was sad for me but it will be much better for him. I will still shoot the crap out of doves and crows and anything else that I think might hurt the quail. Happy New Year Everyone. Gerald-- Sad indeed that a man who grew up hunting "Gent'man Bob" borrowing from my favorite writer Robert C. Ruark here- now finds the quail population so decimated, from land development, predators, loss of habitat, etc.

I recall as a boy both my Father and GrandFather telling me, after a great day with pheasants and maybe ducks on the many private farms we had access to-- words like this: "Son, enjoy this while you can, because someday when you come back here, the farm will be gone and a shopping mall will have taken over this land"-- Sad, but a true prophesy indeed.

Two of the Clubs where I shoot pheasants are located on older farms, and as I am also an avid varmint hunter, there is a great increase in the hawk and avaian presence there (and let me be clear- I don't shoot hawks or accipiters) but also an increase in coyotes and foxes- and let me be also clear- those I shoot on sight-and not for the pelts--

Dean is also right, the encroachment of coyotes (and deer and turkeys) into suburban areas where discharge of firearms is prohibited, is also a part of the problem. I also agree that shooting pen-raised quail cannot be the same as hunting native birds back in the pre-WW11 South, or even better, pre WW1 era-- and pen raised pheasants are a substitute, a better than nothing bird, and I would never compare shooting at such clubs that release them to hunting native birds in KS, SD, ND, NE or MT- (as I have a few times in the past seasons)--

Also note I said "shooting" pen raised birds, and not 'hunting"- not that a preserve is a 100% guarantee- you can miss, the dog(s) can have an off day, the birds can spook and run out ahead of the dog just as native birds do. But just like the gentleman from GA who decries the lack of the huntable numbers of quail from his early years, I feel the same pang about the pheasants of my boyhood days afield.

And as a Sponsor member of DU and PF, I know that legal hunting seasons on native game birds are not the cause, regardless of the amount of birds harvested. Hunter's $ and hard work in groups like these and many others (RGS, Quail and Turkey groups, etc.) are also part of the balance we have, cyclic perhaps, I can't say. I just hope my Grandsons will be able to hunt waterfowl and game birds and share a passion for good dogs and fine guns as I have had the good fortune to know all my life..

[TARNATION !!!]

From my experience with wild pheasant in Saskatchewan and Alberta (1960 to date), habitat is the greatest factor (if there is nowhere to live it is difficult to thrive) The next factor is spring weather (too wet is a real problem for hatchlings or even hatching) then winter weather (blizzards that cover habitat with deep hard-crusted snow suffocate many birds and make feeding very difficult for the others). Predation (Natural and Parker-like) accounts for a few more. As a result (this from reading), the average life span of wild pheasant is approximately 9 months i.e. not even one breeding cycle. That said, if there is good habitat, good food and water, the population sustains itself. A sufficient population of wild birds can usually overcome most issues but never loss of habitat.

[Richard Morrison]

Some of our quail are taken by all the predation mentioned above but, nothing decimates like loss of habitat.

Here, in the South, farming practices have changed so much in the past years wildlife has a difficult go. Wheat is usally planted in the fall and when havested the following summer soybeans are planted and harvested in the fall. Double cropping keeps the farms solvent but doesn't provide much cover for nesting.

Another thing,not mentioned,is the tractor mounted rotary mower. Every farm has one and owner uses it to keep fence rows and field edges clean. I tell the folks at QF this is where we need to start - incenting the farm operators to stop needless mowing.

[Ed Blake]

Coyotes will thin out the small predator population like 'possums, skunks, and cats. While no doubt bad news for the gamebirds, they probably don't make as much of an impact as the other predators. Loss of cover and hawks are the biggest culprits in my mind. Those little "Blue Racers" flying over the corn and sunflower patch in late summer and early fall make my trigger finger itch.