Quail season to open Saturday

Quail hunting season begins across the entire state of Texas this Saturday, Oct. 27, and although bird numbers are down significantly compared to the last two years, hunters are still expected to come to Shackelford County and flush out an enjoyable hunting experience.  

“Quail numbers are down, but there are definitely some birds around,” said game warden Jacob Mort. “If I were to put it on a scale of one to 10, I’d put it at a three about now.”

Quail populations can fluctuate widely from one season to the next, and according to Robert Perez, quail program leader with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the primary drivers for these annual variations are weather and habitat. 

“The winter, spring, and summer weather patterns preceding the hunting season can have a big influence on the summer hatch,” he said. “This past winter was exceptionally dry, especially in the Rolling Plains, where some places went without any precipitation for 100 consecutive days. Unfortunately, these conditions can reduce the availability of foods like winter greens, which are needed to get quail into breeding condition.”

The first broods contained few young (three to five) which indicate limited success, he reported. 

“Spring was also dry over much of these areas with few exceptions,” said Perez. “Later broods have been larger and were more common in the areas that caught more rain in June and July. Fortunately, quail are opportunistic when it comes to the breeding/nesting season and can take advantage of the rains even if they come late like they did this summer.”

Mort said that just three weeks ago he saw a covey that contained several young birds, the result of a late hatch. 

Executive director of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch Dale Rollins wrote that the reports he had received from Shackelford County rated quail outlooks from a “two” in southern Shackelford County to a “five” south of Albany.

Quail Surveys

TPWD projections are based on annual statewide quail surveys that were initiated in 1978 to monitor quail populations. 

The index uses randomly selected, 20-mile roadside survey lines to determine annual quail population trends by ecological region. This trend information helps determine relative quail populations among the regions of Texas.

The average number of bobwhites observed and heard per 20-mile roadside survey in the Rolling Plains region this year was 5.4 compared to 26.7 last year, and is one of the lowest recorded over the last 15 years by the TPWD. 

The 15-year average count in the region is 19.6.

Regulations

Quail hunting season runs through Feb. 24, 2019. The daily bag limit for quail is 15, with 45 in possession. Legal shooting hours for all non-migratory game birds are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. The bag limit is the maximum number that may be killed during the legal shooting hours in one day.

A valid Texas hunting license is required of any person, regardless of age, who hunts any animal, bird, frog, or turtle in Texas. 

A Texas resident hunting license is $25, while a senior resident hunting license or a youth hunting license is $7.

Hunters must also meet Hunter Education Training Course requirements.

In addition, an Upland Game Bird Endorsement is required to hunt quail, pheasant, turkey, or chachalaca. This endorsement cost $7.