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Post by z7bowhunter on Sept 26, 2013 19:44:52 GMT -5
Tonight i was out in the field checking on some things and found myself walking along the fence of my gmas and my neighbors property. On my gmas side there was aabout a 10 acre field that i had bushhogged except for in one corner where i left some grass and brush for the deer to bed down in.My neighbors side is pretty much trash. It was logged out and i mean it it just nasty in there briars and saplings everywhere you look except the trails he has made with a bulldozer lol.
so i was walking thru the corner where i left the brush and then was getting into my neighbors side to look at something when i flushed up about 15-25 quail. after they all flew off and landed in the brush i could still see several of them walking on the ground in front of me and i heard a bunch of little ones making little chirping noises.. definitely a good sign! I was thinking about planting a little clover plot in that area nxt spring. I want to keep them around we dont see many around here at all except for the occasional one at my moms birdfeeder. I went to a seminar about food plots where they talked about managing quail and rabbits and they sadi that clover is great for quail to catch bugs in and to be able to walk through easily. Also i saw 2 does in the same field by where i found the quail and thn saw 3 does in my corn on the way home so that is good too!
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Post by goosepondmonster on Sept 27, 2013 7:44:17 GMT -5
I'd love to see quail make a comeback in this area.
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Post by z7bowhunter on Sept 27, 2013 21:02:27 GMT -5
Yeah i think that pesticides were the main thing that hurt them but also people that clean out their fence rows and stuff. Someone told me that house cats are one of the biggest predators of quail but im not sure about that. At the seminar they showed pictures from a guys farm where he had all sorts of food plots for quail and rabbits. He had clover,sunflowers, corn i think,winter wheat and egyptian wheat.The guy also said that it is important to have the edges of the field where the woods turns into field to be sprayed off or even bare dirt so that the quail chicks can get through easily.. He also showed how the owenr of the farm had taken some wooden pallets and wrapped chickenwire on the top of it and then put a bunch of leaves and brush on top and set them just inside the woods. He said you could go out there anytime there was snow on the ground and see thousands of rabbit tracks around them lol I thought it sounded like a good idea.
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Post by goosepondmonster on Sept 27, 2013 21:05:07 GMT -5
Cats are a threat to many birds. I believe I recall the instructor of my fisheries and wildlife management course saying stray cats and house cats are the most damaging exotic species when it comes to native wildlife.
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Post by octrophies on Sept 29, 2013 8:10:18 GMT -5
hawks and hard winters put the hurt on them, I used to hear and see them in several areas of johnson county where I work mainly, now nothing at all. I planted a crp area for them with millet and actually had a huntable population for awhile. I'm sure there are still plenty in southern parts.
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