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The Texas Tech department
of range, wildlife and fisheries management is busy again. This time their
research involves a common game bird, the Bobwhite quail.
Research is being
conducted by Wade Abbott, a wildlife management graduate student from
Hobbs, New Mexico, and is being overseen by Brad Dabbert, assistant professor,
and Rob Mitchell, associate professor, both in the range, wildlife and
fisheries management department.
The research project
is taking place about 35 miles south of Lubbock in Lynn County near Tahoka
on a plot of Conservation Reserve Program land.
Bobwhite quail are
a native species to the area, but due to many natural limitations, the
numbers have dwindled over the years. Dabbert explains there has been
three coveys of birds in the assigned CRP area, but since the severe weather
in 2001, their numbers have dramatically decreased.
 These
small game birds are five to seven ounces in size and can be found from
Canada to Mexico. A few have been exported from the continental United
States to Hawaii and New Zealand.
Quail are very popular
upland game birds. Over the past few years, the numbers have been decreasing
nationally. They are hunted for meat and sport. Mitchell said he hopes
to help bring back the quail numbers to increase hunting opportunities.
According to USDA,
the project is another beneficial way to utilize CRP land. In 1995, Mitchell
contacted the Natural Resources Conservation Service about a plot of land
for the project.
In the initial stages
of the project, Mitchell contacted the Natural Resource Conservation Service
in Lynn County in an effort to locate information on a research area.
NRCS set up a meeting
between Mitchell and Charles Dibrell Jr., independent executor of the
Dr. Leon Bromberg Charitable Trust and participant in the CRP program.
Dibrell was more than happy to provide the land for this experiment.
When the land reached
its 10 year CRP expiration, the 1,010 acres were accepted for another
10 years into the CRP, then plans and management contracts were made.
The area consists
of mostly weeping lovegrass. Tech students and professors have completed
prescribed burns on part of the plot to remove dead and old grass to allow
for new growth.
As part of the CRP
program requirement, NRCS worked with Mitchell to seed 515 acres with
grasses, including blue grama, sideoats grama, green sprangletop, plains
bristlegrass, blackwell switchgrass, little bluestem and forbs like illinois
bundleflower. Shrubs were planted on the quail research area to provide
natural cover and protection for the birds.
The area the quail
are being released on consists of weeping lovegrass and planted shrubs,
surrounded mainly by cotton fields. The birds will have to adapt to the
new location, says Mitchell. They are coming from a native, brushy rangeland
habitat and being placed in an open grassland habitat.
Quail habitat is
generally five to 20 percent woody cover. In 2001, researchers planted
trees, but they were killed by the drought and heavy hail. This is why
Tech officials decided to build artificial habitats called quail cones.
To provide habitat
on the CRP land, the researchers must first construct quail cones, the
shelters made by the researchers to act as cover and escape for the birds.
The cones are made from T posts in a tepee design and then covered with
cedar slash. Researchers also provide food and water supplements within
the cones.
A total of 24 cones are placed in three separate groupings on 160 acres
of the CRP land. They are set 50-100 meters apart.
The next step involves
trapping the birds in a live funnel trap similar to those used to trap
minnows. The birds are lured into the trap with cracked corn and grain
sorghum, Mitchell said.
Trapping takes place
most days near Seymour and traps are checked about every four hours to
minimize death loss. If Abbott is not able to check the traps, they are
taken apart to prevent the birds from being captured for a long period
of time.
“During the
day they are checked more frequently,” Mitchell said. “This
is to minimize death loss by hawks and heat.”
The
quail are then transferred to the CRP land in Lynn County where they are
tagged with radio transmitting collars and released. This is to monitor
the location and migration of the quail. In addition, the collars are
set up to detect lack of movement after 12 hours. This allows researchers
to keep track of death loss, Dabbert said.
 Death
loss is a concern for several reasons. Because the quail are unfamiliar
with the new terrain, Mitchell is expecting some death loss. He predicts
the majority of death loss will be due to predation, but also thinks harsh
weather and stress from capture will play a small factor. Mitchell believes
birds caught together are members of the same covey and should be released
together. He said they are not sure if the coveys will intermingle on
the CRP land, but that is one thing researchers are watching.
“Every time
a number of birds are captured, they are released with the same birds,”
Mitchell said. Another point of the research is focusing on the reproduction
of the quail and their ability to reach adulthood. Quail chicks depend
mainly on insects for their diet since the insects are high in protein.
As the chicks grow, they still eat insects, but eat more and more seeds.
The intent of the
researchers at Tech is to develop an outdoor classroom for not only research,
but also student involvement and participation. The CRP land has only
been used by Tech students and some tour groups as of now, but Mitchell
hopes to have grade schools and high schools from the surrounding areas
to take advantage of this research site.
The NRCS and other
state and federal agencies support the program. USDA officials think this
is an excellent alternative use for CRP land. It has two good outcomes,
research and a more exciting learning experience for local students.
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