Field Notes
October 16, 2009
Quail: Texas - Oklahoma Dateline: We just returned from our Oklahoma hunting grounds. We are very pleased with the number of quail we saw. Rainfall has been consistent in the panhandle of Oklahoma this spring and summer, and quail have rebounded nicely. There were two hatches this summer. The first in mid June and another hatch came off about six weeks ago in late August. We expect to have an above average season this fall and winter and are excited to start hunting the second week of November.
Texas is still a big question mark and frankly, this puzzles me as well as several other biologists around the state. We had a reasonably mild summer with adequate and timely rains that should have produced a good hatch. We are seeing two age classes of birds in the rolling plains region, but the incidence of mature birds from the first hatch are not as prevalent as we thought. It is possible that once we get into the winter that the second hatch will be sufficient to provide adequate hunting.
There are many theories as to what is happening to the quail in Texas. Some feel it is a result from increased ground predation by raccoons, feral hogs, skunks and possums. However, while I do believe this is a contributing factor, it may be a more complex problem known as phytoalexin and aflatoxin. This is present in deer corn and other small grains fed to deer. Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites produced by certain fungi in/on foods and feeds. They are present in small grains when plants are stressed from environmental conditions while they are still growing. Drought or sudden changes in weather can shock and stress the plants. This traps nitrates in the plants that can ultimately cause the incidence of fungi that can be toxic to birds and in higher concentrations mammals as well. We feed our birds from November through March but only feed split black eye peas. Legumes such as peas and beans are not as susceptible to this phenomenon as small grains.