The 2019 “building mode” for Texas’ bobwhite quail is but a memory.
Bird numbers are down in four of the six ecoregions Texas Parks and Wildlife Department examines in its annual roadside survey.
That includes the state’s two premier regions for bobwhite quail hunting: South Texas and the Rolling Plains.
The best opportunity for hunter success, though, remains in South Texas.
“I’m hopeful there will be some hotspots in some places in South Texas,” said Robert Perez, TPWD’s upland game bird program leader.
“I think overall it’s going to be slightly below average, but I think there are going to be certain counties, like on the Sand Sheet toward the coast, that will be average.”
Western South Texas, including places like the Chaparral wildlife management area and Atascosa, Dimmit, and Frio counties, were pretty dry, but timely precipitation boosted other parts of the region.
Late summer rains from a rather active hurricane season in the Gulf also promoted late hatches in some spots in South Texas, giving second and third opportunities to unsuccessful hens. However, the youngest chicks are put at a higher risk.
“Most information points to lower survival in late chicks than chicks born earlier in the summer. So these late hatches, although they may put a good number of chicks on the ground, they’re more susceptible to weather events,” Perez said.
The late hatches may also contribute to a low survey. The average number of birds seen per route this year in South Texas was 3.8, a woeful number compared to the 13.8 in 2019 and well below the 15-year mean of 9.1. It is the lowest recording in the region since 2006 (3.1).
Still, Perez believes the survey is underrepresenting quail numbers in South Texas.
The survey, taken along 20-mile routes, is done during the first two weeks of August each year, which would miss the hens sitting on nests awaiting a later hatch. Heat and thick vegetation can prevent quail from flushing for surveyors, and heavy traffic on roads used by oil and gas operations can flush them before surveyors ever get there.
Timely rains provided good nesting conditions in some areas and Perez thinks South Texas should have at least a little better year than what the survey indicates. For instance, Bruce Roberts, area manager of wildlife operations for the King Ranch, said he expects an average season on the biggest ranch in the country.
Unfortunately, the survey numbers are likely an accurate depiction of what’s happening in the Rolling Plains.
Surveyors counted 3.25 bobwhite quail per route in the ecoregion, not only less than the 5.3 last year but deep below the 15-year average of 14.3.
A hot summer dried out the Panhandle (High Plains also saw a drop, from 4.11 to 2.56) and abbreviated the nesting season in much of the region.
Like most quail hunting in the state, success can still be found in spots, and TPWD staff are hopeful for an average hunting season at the Gene Howe and Matador WMAs.
Perhaps a silver lining from the survey results is the marginal increase in the Cross Timbers and Gulf Prairies regions, although the fragmentation of those landscapes makes hunting opportunities few and far between.
The survey tallied 1.83 quail per route in the Cross Timbers, up from 2019’s dismal .4 and near the 15-year average of 1.89. The Gulf Prairie numbers have increased slightly since 2018, up to an even 3 in 2020 (1.3 in 2018 and 2.33 in 2019).
However, the overall trend suggests another down year for bobwhite quail in Texas, a product of the boom and bust cycle the state’s hunters have long witnessed.
“They can’t all be winners. It’s not always going to be a great year because we are at the edge of the distribution of the species,” Perez said.
“We know that we have tough years and we know that every 5-7 years we get a really good one and we get some OK ones in between.”
Dustin McNabb, the regional field representative covering Texas for Quail Forever, echoed that sentiment.
“It’s a plight Texas quail hunters go through every year. We’re all praying for those banner years like we had between 2015-17, but the reality is we have more of the bust years.”
For Perez, McNabb and many others, the journey is often the destination when it comes to bobwhite quail hunting. It is often more about who you’re with, working the dogs and spending time in beautiful country. And although the survey generally shows poor numbers statewide, great success can still be found on individual properties.
“I enjoy hunting even in down years,” McNabb said.
“For me, it’s a time I can get out and reminisce about being in the field with my grandpa. It’s time I spend with family. And it’s time I spend with friends.”
McNabb also urged landowners and those involved with quail habitat to not get discouraged during down years.
Restoring native grasses is imperative, and seeds can hold over even in drought years. When it finally does rain, everything surrounding a restoration area can boom.
McNabb said that each person can play a part, no matter how small. The utilization of a five-acre farm corner is just as important as a 40-acre one “because we’re trying to put links in the chain.” Landowner assistance in restoring bobwhite quail is crucial in Texas, a state that is predominantly private land.
Restoring and maintaining quail habitat is what will help keep upland bird hunting alive in the state for the next generation.
“We do the work even when it seems like it may just be hopeless. It’s not hopeless,” McNabb said.
“We just have to look at this as a marathon instead of a sprint. And it’s a marathon without a finish line.”
McNabb added that an act as simple as purchasing a $30 license plate can help bobwhite quail in Texas.
The purchase of a special quail license plate, offered through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, sends most of the proceeds to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation for quail conservation.
“If you’re an avid quail hunter, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have that plate,” McNabb said.
Texas quail season begins Saturday and runs through Feb. 28. The daily bag limit is 15 birds.
