The difference is between range wide declines and local population declines. I spent 10 years as a quail researcher in s ga/n fl/s al on quail plantations. Right now the quail plantations in s ga are experiencing the highest populations ever recorded, 2-3 birds per acre - on the ones practicing good management. Year round feeding, intensive predator control and habitat. Thomasville ga plantations make up 500,000 contiguous acres of good, managed habitat. Yet the state of ga is still experiencing range wide declines.

Ive got places here in al that are "managing habitat" but not practicing predator control and we see populations in the bird per 20-30 acres. On the bigger places here in al that manage well and trap, maybe a bird per acre. However, again, alabama has been experiencing a decline of 2-3% per year for decades - primarily related to habitat declines in both quantity and quality. There are places in alabama that quail are virtually extinct and it is not habitat loss per se but habitat changes that result in good habitat for deer and turkey maybe but not quail.

It may be "chicken and egg" concept since both were happening at the same time but I know quail can exist in viable numbers without predator control, but they will go extinct without the correct habitat.

Very interesting information gobbler. Thanks for posting it.

last time I quail hunted south Ga one of their predator control practices was shooting every hawk they saw.

First day out guide sees a hawk and gets his rifle out. I ask if he knows it's illegal to shoot hawks. He replies no GW is ever going to know. I show him my Federal ID. He says he was just kididng about shooting the hawk.....LOL

Dang, that was one fine place though. Antebellum home, orange juice delivered to the bed at wakeup, BIG breakfast, LOTS of birds, good horses, great dogs.

you do it like this:



With dogs like this:



get off and do this:



All just for this:



Spend the night here:



Kinda reminds you of this from the 1930's:



Beats the heck out of goat hunting! And we have officially completed the highjack!!

Gobbler, I see you are well versed with the quail. Thanks for the on the ground input.

What happened to the bobcats!

gobbler, that looks like the house we stayed at. We rode the horses, had a man to hold em while we got off and shot. All the guides/handlers wore white coats so they would be seen, said you'd be surprised at the crazy folks they get there.

I was a guest of a friend from England, he didn't hunt the first day due to business. His teenage son and I hunted, I let the boy do almost all the shooting. The guide finally said I didn't shoot because I was afraid I'd miss all the birds and look bad. Next rise I killed two bambam with my double 20, maybe two feet apart.....he didn't say anything else while I let the boy shoot.

Whats the name of the place in the pics????

the buggy we used had 16 dog boxes on it, rotated dogs pretty quick.

Top pic is Pineland plantation (Albany Ga area) owned by the Mellons - close to 30,000 acres of fine bird habitat. 2nd pic is my bird dog on Nilo plantation owned by the Williams, I think around 20,000 acres, very historic place designed when Olin Mills folks owned it. Third pic is Peachburn plantation in Union Springs. 4th is right after third was taken. 5th is Rosina plantation in Thomasville Ga area. Last is Herbert Stoddard and Henry Beadle on Tall Timbers in North Fl.

I spent 3 years riding horses with the hunting parties tracking quail while hunting - very interesting. They rotate out dogs quick like 30 minutes or so and usually bring a lot of dogs. True wild birds are also hard to hit. I hunted with a friend in Union Springs the last week of season last year and we found 6 coveys in the afternoon - shot into all 6 - I shot 13 shells, he shot 15 - we never cut a feather. It was embarrassing!

Well, i guess, we killed them all.

I get more out of messing with them from 25' up making quick squeaking noises and watching them attempt to figure out what and where that noise is than I do pulling he trigger on one. I enjoy just watching them. I don't think they take that many fawns or enough to consider shooting one. Turkeys either, I suppose.

Always wanted one...
now I want more...