Game Bird Research Topics

Northern Bobwhite Quail Recordings

Graduate student Randy Cass recorded vocalizations of nesting bobwhites with a digital recorder and microphone. The microphones were placed at the top of the nest bowl at least four days before hatching. From 14 nests we found the incubating parent began calling an average time of 24 hours and 52 minutes before leaving the nest. The minimum duration of calling was 16 hours and 16 minutes while the longest lasted 38 hours and 13 minutes! Read more and listen to the recordings .

How Many Bobwhite Coveys Are There?

Obtaining an autumn bobwhite abundance estimate for your favorite hunting area or research study site is easier than it seems and it can enjoyable too! Many experienced bobwhite hunters, land managers, and researchers know that coveys can be located during daybreak by their “covey” call. While this method works well for finding coveys, it has never been taken to the next step and developed into a way to estimate abundance. This guide consolidates 4 years of research on developing methods to estimate their numbers using this unique calling behavior. Read more.

Timber Density and Quail

While maximizing timber and bobwhite on the same area is impossible, the relationship between timber and bobwhite numbers has yet to be adequately quantified. Therefore, for 3 years we monitored bobwhite populations on 6 sites across the Red Hills using covey call point counts and relating this index of bobwhite abundance to timber density. Read more.

Albany Quail Project

The Albany Quail Project was established in 1992 to conduct research and provide practical quail management information to the quail plantations in the Albany, Georgia area. Originally at Auburn University, it became part of the Tall Timbers Game Bird Program on January 1, 2008. Our current work is focused on the continuation of collecting demographic information from our long term study areas, as well as some new initiatives. Read more.

Effects of Supplemental Feeding on Bobwhite Quail Populations

Few studies have assessed the long-term influence of supplemental feeding on bobwhite populations. Demographically, supplemental feeding may affect seasonal survival, nesting, nest success, and chick survival. Because the influence of weather, natural food supplies, and predators interact and vary annually, the likelihood that supplemental feeding influences a bobwhite population similarly each year is low. Read more.

Quail Nest Video Clips

Prior to recent innovations in micro-camera surveillance technology little was known about quail nest predators. Quail researchers were only able to infer the cause of the nest failure by the remains and the condition of the nest after the predation event. In order to get a better understanding of which predators were depredating quail nests Tall Timbers began investing in small waterproof video cameras. Read more and view video clips.

Measuring the Predator Context on Your Land to Manage Predation of Bobwhites

In the U.S., the effect of predators on game bird populations likely varies regionally because of the impacts of weather on wildlife populations. Severe drought and heat in the southwest play an important role in game bird populations and may alter the effect of predators by disrupting predator-prey dynamics. These systems tend to produce “boom or bust” cycles for game birds like bobwhite. Read more.

Quail Call Newsletter

Quail Call is a newsletter for Red Hills Quail Management published annually by Tall Timbers.
See current and past issues of the Quail Call Newsletter.

Research Notes

The Tall Timbers Research Notes Newsletter is published every other month.
See current and past issues of the Research Notes Newsletter.