Conservation Corner: July 12, 1999

Managing Bobwhite Quail
by James L. Cummins

During the final week of June, I was returning from a meeting of the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks at J.P. Coleman State Park in Tishimingo County and stopped by my parents' farm in Webster County that evening.

As I walked down one of our woods roads to check the grass I had sprayed in our kobe lespedeza food plots the previous weekend, I saw a pair of quail. When I saw the pair, they ran in circles like their wing was broken and then ran back in the direction where they had been. Suddenly, about 15 chicks ran about before their parents began a continuous whistle to bring them back together. The adults must have thought I was a predator and were decoying me away from the chicks. Nature is smarter than we think, I thought. With that, I thought it would be the perfect time to discuss the management of one the premiere game birds in Mississippi - the bobwhite quail. Many things can be done to improve its habitat.

Initially, one must evaluate the area for food, nesting cover, brood rearing habitat and escape cover. One must meet the habitat needs of quail during each season. Providing food plots is an excellent way to help quail survive the winter months; however, winter food is just one piece of the puzzle. If all the pieces are not present, one will not have consistent numbers of quail.

Strip disking provides a means for breaking up large areas into smaller areas, thus creating more edge. These disked strips also serve as fire breaks when prescribed burns are incorporated as well as providing dusting and scratching areas for bobwhites.

Areas can be developed into good quail habitat by leaving undisturbed strips of native vegetation approximately 30 feet wide. Maintenance on these strips would include disking or burning one side of each strip every two years in late winter. Planting strips of lespedeza will also provide an excellent food source during the late winter and a place for chicks to find insects in early summer.

By leaving small strips of unharvested crops such as soybeans, wheat or corn, habitat will also be provided during the winter. Many fields have areas that are not used for crop production. Usually, these spots occur in field corners, around edges and in shaded areas. These spots can provide much of the quail's needs. A good rule of thumb is to keep strips at least 15 feet wide. Plantings in these areas that are good for quail include cow peas, wild reseeding soybean, partridge pea, kobe and shrub lespedeza.

Prescribed burning is an excellent management tool which is under-utilized. Burning stimulates the growth of important food plants and provides insects for broods. These burns should be done in a mosaic pattern and should be mapped out on a rotational basis every two to three years. Brush piles and plantings of shrubs located adjacent to food sources provide excellent escape cover.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.