They have not come back in Dallas or Houston, San Antonio or Austin, but just about everywhere else bobwhite quail are supposed to be in Texas they are there and in big numbers.

“It was surprising the level at which the numbers responded and how quickly we went from one level to another. We have had a five-fold increase and that is the best they can do mathematically,” said Robert Perez, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s quail program leader.

Looking at the department’s late summer quail surveys, the state’s three top quail regions – South Texas, Rolling Plains and High Plains – all showed sizeable jumps in bobwhite numbers in what is really the second year of a rebound.

South Texas numbers per route almost doubled from last year, climbing from 11.59 to 21.05, almost four birds per route above the long-term average. The last time the Brush Country routes averaged more than 20 birds was in 1999.

In the Rolling Plains quail route numbers are at a whopping 38.29, a five-fold increase over 2014 when they were at 7.53. This year’s number is almost double the long-term average of 20.16.

Unlike in South Texas, this is a repeat of 2005 in the Rolling Plains when counts reached 37.37. However, unlike this year-to-year increase, in 2005 the birds were coming off strong years in 2003 and 2004 when the counts were 24.11 and 22.69 respectively.

In the High Plains, this year’s route’s averaged 10, an improvement compared to last year’s 5.89 and almost three-times the long-term average of 3.65.

While lower than the other two regions, consider that the High Plains is back from a count of .11 in 2012 and .78 in 2013. Likewise, scaled or blue quail numbers in the region have rebounded from .09 to 12.86 in a year’s time.

“They are at the top of their game according to our surveys,” Perez noted.

And so is Perez. While others have been looking for other causes for quail number declines, he has been saying the key is rainfall. Bring the rain back to Texas and the quail counts will follow.

He was right. A more than 15-year down cycle of rainfall came to an abrupt halt, at least for this year, and the birds responded.

“During the drought we saw a lot of animals leaving the land. We went from a barren landscape to an ideal landscape with lots and lots of food,” the biologist said.

He credits rains starting last winter that created a good start for the birds. Different from many years during the recent dry cycle, the rainfall continued until mid-July. Coupled with mild temperatures for Texas, hens were able to pull off successful hatches, some possibly twice.

Perez said there are documented cases in which hens pull off a successful hatch, leave the brood to be tended by the male and then seek a second male for a second hatch. It is rare and happens most likely when numbers are down and the birds are doing all they can to repopulate.

More commonly what hunters are seeing and confusing with multiple hatches is staggered nesting by hens that produces poults of various size throughout the summer and some in early fall months.

“Basically if you see a hen that is successful nesting in May or June, those are gong to be pretty grown. Only a certain percentage is going to be successful because of predators or other reasons. If a hen is not successful, you have to start the clock all over again. There is going to be the second attempt, and then a third and a fourth. A hen can try to nest up to four times. If conditions are good a hen can fail three times and then pull off a nest. That is the small (quail seen late),” Perez said.

Despite three very dry months, Perez said he expects quail numbers to have held up because many of the young hatched this year were already grown enough to fend for themselves. He also said conditions were so lush going into the dry months that there were plenty of bugs and seeds for the young birds to live on.

In the Rolling Plains there is also an abundance of broomweed to protect quail of all ages from avian predators.

Looking ahead Perez said if the El Nino prediction is correct, numbers could be even higher next year. The one drawback would be a snow or frozen ground lasting three days or longer that would keep birds from being able to feed and lead to a major winter loss.

Texas isn’t the only state enjoying a quail rebound. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation said last week its road counts are up 59.5 percent from last year and 353.9 percent from 2013.

With a season that runs until Feb. 28 already underway, Perez hopes this is the beginning of a return to normalcy in quail numbers. In turn, he hopes that leads to hunters returning to the flock in years to come. In recent years quail hunter numbers have cratered along with the population.

There is one negative caveat to improved quail conditions, and that comes for duck hunters. Typically when wet weather returns to the southern part of the country that often means dry weather for duck nesting grounds to the north.

So as quail numbers climb, duck numbers could be in for a serious dip in years to come.

For now, however, it is a boom time for both.

 

Have a comment or opinion on this story? Contact outdoor writer Steve Knight by email at outdoor@tylerpaper.com. Follow Steve Knight on Facebook at Texas All Outdoors and on Twitter @texasalloutdoors.