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| The seeds of many native plants are important quail food. |
Foreword
Rabbits and quail
once thrived on the traditional family farm. Both are essential to sport hunting
in North Carolina. However, smallgame populations in many areas have plummeted
in recent years. Most reductions in populations can be traced to changes in
the way we use our land resulting in less habitat or lower quality habitat.
Small game populations will likely continue to decline on a statewide basis
as our expanding human population and more efficient farming practices place
greater pressures on wildlife habitat. No statewide program will solve the problem.
It must be attacked on individual properties. Those individuals who are willing
to invest time and resources to develop small-game habitat will continue to
have quality hunting areas. Those expecting wildlife to be a simple by-product
of agriculture are likely to be disappointed.
Introduction
Developing an effective small-game program for a tract
of land is not as simple as planting a food plot for quail or erecting a nest
box for squirrels. Winter foods may not necessarily be the factor limiting quail
populations, and nest sites for squirrels may not be in short supply. Other
factors, such as nesting or resting cover or the location of food in relation
to nesting areas may be most important. To initiate a successful program a landowner
must: 1) identify the requirements of the species he wishes to
manage; 2) identify
the factors limiting the population; 3) develop a plan; 4) implement the plan;
and 5) evaluate the success of his efforts.
Identify the requirements
of the species. A good understanding of the food and
cover requirements of wildlife is needed to
begin a successful
habitat management program. Much of this information can be gained by observing
the species and reading about their needs. A list of easy-to-obtain references
is provided at the end of this pamphlet.
Identify limiting
factors. Once you understand the requirements of a specific
animal then you can better identiy factors limiting its population. Your management
efforts should be directed at improving those factors. For instance, if winter
foods are abundant on your farm, work on some other habitat component such as
nesting cover or escape cover.
Develop a plan.
Think through and write down your objectives. That's
an important step in developing a successful management program. Inventory your
land and decide how many of the requirements for small game are available. Note
where each is located and how you could expand them. Take advantage of existing
features and develop your plan around your particular objectives. Careful planning
in the initial stages is critical because many of your decisions will affect
wildlife populations on your land for years.
Implement the plan.
Some parts of the habitat, such as nesting areas for
quail, must be maintained frequently. Many activities must be conducted during
a specific time of the year. Following your plan will ensure that management
activities are completed on schedule.
Evaluate progress.
Evaluating the success of your efforts is the most rewarding
part of the program. The process can be as simple as recording hunting success
or as complex as recording daily sightings, systematically counting tracks,
or developing a regular route to listen for and record quail calls.
It is beyond the scope
of this booklet to cover all the specific techniques available for managing
small-game species. However, we will discuss a number of general farm game species.
For additional assistance in managing wildlife on your land contact one of the
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission district wildlife biologists. Their
names and addresses are available by calling 19197337291.
Bobwhite Quail Management
A management program
designed to increase or maintain high bobwhite populations must look at food
and cover requirements during all seasons of the year. The number of quail attainable
will be determined by the amount of quality habitat available during critical
periods. In other words, the population is directly related to the requirement
that is in the least supply. The more habitat and the greater variety of habitat
on your land the more coveys you can expect.
Quail are adapted to the
earliest stages of plant succession. Generally, annual disturbance of existing
vegetation or soil improves the food and cover requirements of quail. A major
portion of each covey's range should be maintained in weeds and grasses because
these plants provide seeds, insects, and protection from predators. Well-dispersed
thickets provide some foods, but more important, provide escape and loafing
cover. Scattered trees add seeds, nuts, and fruits which are important foods
during some seasons. Many normal farming or forestry programs can be modified
to increase quail
populations if the manager is willing make adjustments to provide suitable habitat.
Transition Zones
Quail are often referred
to as an edge species since they flourish in areas where two
or more habitat types
meet, such as the border between croplands and woodlands. Expanding the transition
zones of native weeds and grasses between cropland and woodland, or hedgerows,
is the most economical and beneficial habitat improvement practice that can
be applied on most farms. These strips provide cover, nesting sites, and a diversity
of quail foods. Strips should be a minimum of 15 feet wide, and must be maintained
to remain productive.
A good rule of thumb is to disk or burn the strips in late winter whenever the
soil surface is more than 50 percent covered with dead vegetation (usually every
two to three
years). These zones should be rotated so that each field has at least two sides
in nesting cover each summer.
Strip Disking
The productivity of
idle fields can be enhanced by disking strips during late winter. The freshly
turned soil quickly revegetates in weeds and grasses whose seeds are excellent
quail foods. Populations of insects, critical to the
survival of young quail, are higher in disked strips. Double the number of grasshoppers
were found in disked strips than in adjacent fallow fields. A strip with a maximum
width of 20 to 40 feet is preferred since broods can find escape cover in the
adjacent undisturbed areas. Look for and protect developing plum thickets, blackberry
clumps, and sassafras clumps as these areas provide both food and cover.
Hedgerows
The consolidation of small field units into larger units
by removing fencelines, hedgerows, and windrows has greatly reduced the amount
of quail habitat on some farms. The hedgerow of native or introduced species,
bordered by a transition zone, is the heart of many successful quail-management
programs. One Midwestern study documented the decline and eventual loss of a
local quail population as hedgerows in the township were reduced and finally
eliminated.
Planning. Hedgerows
can be incorporated into the overall farm plan. Take advantage of existing breaks
such as roadsides, drainage ditches, and terraces to minimize loss of cropland.
A 10-foot wide hedgerow with a 15- to 20-foot
wide transition zone is recommended.
Plant Species. In
moderately fertile soils, hedgerows of native shrub and tree species will develop
if a strip of land is protected from disturbance for several years. Faster development
is possible by planting varieties available from commercial nurseries. Such
species as shrub lespedeza, blackberries, privet, autumn olive, or honeysuckle
usually do well.
Maintenance. Hedges
should be controlled by mowing or disking adjacent transition zones. Trees should
be cut and
left in the hedgerow when they threaten to shade out ground cover.
Developing Foods
Many bobwhite quail foods occur naturally on North Carolina
farms when the correct management procedures are used. Landowners should learn
to recognize native food plants and encourage them whenever practical. Most
practices (i.e. disking or burning) that retard woody and shrubby vegetation
and encourage weeds and grasses will be good for quail. Disking and burning
provide additional benefits by removing the litter layer which often covers
seeds and makes them unavailable to quail.
Timing of management activities is important. Generally burning and disking
have the greatest benefits when done in February or March.
Supplemental plantings
have traditionally been utilized to provide
a winter food supply for quail and can be an important part of an overall management
program where native foods are in short supply. A primary function of plantings
is to concentrate
birds for hunting. Landowners should strive for quality plantings. Fertile sites
adjacent to escape cover should be chosen for this intensive work. All plantings
require thorough soil preparation and fertilization as any agricultural crop.
The first consideration
on many farms should be to leave patches of unharvested rowcrops and crop residues
near escape cover for quail. This is often more economical than planting specifically
for quail. Where this practice is used, or where native foods are available
throughout the winter, attention should be focused on increasing other aspects
of the habitat such as nesting and escape cover.
Annual seed mix is designed
to provide quail food from early fall into the winter months.
Components include cowpeas,
soybeans, millets, sorghums, and buckwheat.
Perennial seed mixture
will produce a lasting food plot as well as good escape cover. Plots should
be planted by midApril and protected from disturbance the first two growing
seasons. Plots should then be mowed or disked lightly in February every other
year. Components include shrub lespedeza, annual lespedeza, partridge pea, and
varieties of peas and beans.
Other excellent planting
materials are available from most farm supply stores. A few of the more common
are kobe and Korean lespedeza, corn, milo, peas, wheat, rye, and millet.
Further information on
planting dates and cultural methods are available from your county Agricultural
Extension Office or district wildlife biologist.
Forest Management For Quail
Though more often
considered a farmland species, the bobwhite can thrive in properly managed open
woodlands. In fact, a patchwork of forest and farmland has the greatest potential
for quail management. Several management options are available to landowners
who wish to harvest pine timber and quail. To get maximum bobwhite numbers,
stands should be maintained on sawtimber rotations at low stocking rates, but
moderate populations can be maintained on lands managed more intensively. The
key to managing quail in forestland, as in agricultural areas, is to maximize
the food and cover plants available.
Thinnings. Removing
slow growing, diseased, and crooked trees from stands will increase the growth
of higher quality trees. These breaks in the forest canopy will permit light
to penetrate to the forest floor and encourage food and cover plants. Timber
harvest should maintain an overstory open enough for direct sunlight to make
large patches on at least 60 percent of the forest floor at one time (observation
should be made on a clear day at noon when trees are in full leaf).
Prescribed Burning.
Timber stands thinned to recommended levels must be
prescribed-burned to provide good quail habitat. Without fire, hardwood sprouts
and young pines soon shade out more
desirable grasses and weeds. Burning controls the unwanted plants, stimulates
food-producing plants, and maintains an open, huntable timber stand.
Timing and methodology
of burning depends upon the desired results. The intensity of the fire is controlled
by burning during specific weather conditions and whether the fire is allowed
to burn with or against
the wind (headfire or backfire). Hotter fires, obtained by burning when the
forest litter is dry and the humidity is low, are needed to
control large hardwood
sprouts. Once sprouts have been controlled, cooler fires should be used annually
to maintain food and
cover plants in a productive condition.
Large stands of timber
should be subdivided by disked firelines before burning is initiated. In addition,
small areas (1/4 to 1/2 acre) of thickets and nesting cover should be circled
by firelines and protected. Burns are best conducted by experienced persons
during February or March. The North Carolina Forest Service should be notified
prior to burning.
Management For Rabbits
Rabbits have an incredible
reproductive potential, but are a favorite food of predators including foxes,
owls, bobcats, dogs, cats, and man. Many of the management techniques suggested
for quail benefit rabbis, but your plan should maximize dense escape cover.
Cover
The edge where field
and forest meet is the focal point for developing escape cover for rabbits.
Food plants are usually abundant in this zone. However, many forested field
edges lack sufficient cover to protect rabbits from predators.
To create ideal cover adjacent
to the food supply start at the field edge and cut down
everything for 30 to 50 feet into the woods. Use what you wish for firewood
but leave tops and brush where they fall. In fertile soils a dense jungle, complete
with honeysuckle and briars, will develop among the tops within a year or two.
In a few years trees will begin to shade
ground cover and you must repeat the process.
To increase the density
of natural cover along the field edge, fertilize the area with a complete fertilizer
(i.e. 8-8-8 or 10-10-10) during early spring.
Food
Studies have determined that a continuous supply of
growing forage promotes increased reproductive success in rabbits. If you are
fortunate enough to have abandoned fields or pastures
to manage, mowing
can be used to provide
a fresh growth of plant material throughout the summer. If the soil you are
managing is moderately fertile there is little need to worry
about planting the strips. Simply mow narrow trails (8 to 10 feet wide) through
the field at 150 foot intervals. The trails should be mowed monthly during
the summer tomaintain
a continuous food supply.
To maintain your old field
you will need to mow about one-third of the area each year in addition to the
strips. This is best done in late spring or early summer so that the area is
completely revegetated before frost. In some soil types you may need to mow
less frequently. Wait as long as possible, but don't wait until trees coming
up in the field are too big to mow.
Harvest
Biologists have
traditionally maintained that quail and rabbits cannot be over-harvested. When
abundant food and cover are available this is still true. However, as habitat
becomes fragmented and of poorer quality, as in many areas today, the chances
that local populations can be over-harvested increases.
Quail. The size
of your hunting grounds and the number of birds on it will determine how much
quail hunting it will support. Determining quail population levels is going
to be rough at best. The best practical method is to map where you find coveys
and estimate numbers in the fall. To ensure an adequate carryover of breeding
birds no more than half the fall population should be harvested.
Rabbits. Determining population size for rabbits is much more difficult than for quail. Even heavy hunting early in the season is not likely to harm spring breeding populations. However, you may wish to hunt the area less often in January and February unless you can track the rabbits after a snow and are able to document a good population. Even then a conservative approach is best.
References
Quail
Elliott, Charles. 1974. Prince of Game Birds: the
Bobwhite Quail. Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources, Atlanta, Georgia. 193
pp.
Landers, J. L. and B. S.
Mueller. 1986. Bobwhite Quail Management. A Habitat Approach. Available
from Tall Timbers Research Station, RRt.1, Box 678. Tallahassee, FL 32312. ($5.00).
Rosene, W. 1969. The
Bobwhite Quail: Its Life and Management. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick.418
pp. Available from: Hartwell Sun, 200 N. Forest Ave., Hartwell, Georgia 30643.
Stoddard, H. L.1931. The
Bobwhite Quail: Its Habits, Preservation and Increase. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York.628 pp.
Rabbits
Carson, J. D. and D. E. Cantner. 1963. West Virginia
Cottontails. West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Charleston,
West Virginia. 25 pp.
Hill, E. P. 1972. The
Cottontail Rabbit In Alabama. Bulletin 440. Agricultural Experiment Station,
Auburn University. Auburn, Georgia. 103 pp.
Lord, R. D. Jr. 1963. The
Cottontail Rabbit In Illinois. Technical Bulletin No.3. Southern Illinois
University Press. Carbondale, Illinois. 94 pp.
Funding for this publication was provided in part by North Carolina Quail Unlimited.
Wes Coltrane |
To find out the name
and address of your district wildlife biologist call: 919-733-7291
For more information about Quail Unlimited, a private conservation organization contact: