THEY SAY IT CAN'T BE DONE (OR QUAIL ON A SMALLER SCALE)

By Tim Milligan, Business Development Coordinator

Each night lately my mysterious little neighbors can be heard nearby, carrying on somewhere deep in the trees. My kids swear they talk to them and they answer back. I don't argue the plausibility as I wonder if this nightly conversation is what keeps them near our family home. Over the years, others have been here and moved on, but this group seems to have found its place and has no desire to leave -- an achievement many said couldn't be done.

Because I train and handle bird dogs, a sport that requires constant access to quail, I've had the good fortune of learning a great deal about what the fickle little game birds need to survive and thrive. And because I work at Plateau as a Business Development Coordinator, I have the advantage of working with biologists who know what it takes to successfully manage quail. Ten years back, when we first moved into our little house on a few acres, there were no quail. The fact that they're here now, and in no hurry to leave, speaks volumes about what can be done with a minimum of effort, applied on a consistent basis, toward a specific goal.

My quail management began as a by-product of my dog handling. To train the dogs, I would bring birds home, release them, and they would stick around for a while. These birds were soon seen all over the development where my family lives, walking across the street, hanging out by the creek, and even in the neighbor's chicken coops. They could be heard calling for a period of time, but soon moved on. It was a gradual process, but the thought sparked that we could change things around here to help these birds make a decision to stay longer and longer until they finally called our place home. Over the last four or five years, much to my wife's chagrin, I have been grooming this place to be so attractive to quail that they would not want to leave. Nothing I have done is all that extraordinary or complex, and while any vestiges of "traditional" lawn care have flown out the window, as long as the quail keep calling I get by with the "it's habitat!" excuse. My small scale success dispels the myth that you can only manage for quail on a large property. Some say you need 1,000 acres or more. My quail and I disagree. If you want quail on your property, with patience and persistence, it can be done. Oh, and it helps to think like a quail.

Thinking like a quail
Despite being 6'3" and featherless, I looked at my yard and the area around my house as though I were six inches tall, have tiny legs, and want to stay on the ground more than fly. I kept in mind that everything else out there wants to eat me. I considered that in order to call this place home, I require that my habitat needs be met in this small area. I need cover overhead from avian predators, and woody cover with ample shade to stay cool all day while loafing or rearing young. There needs to be lots of food available like seed bearing grasses and forbs, as well as freshly disturbed ground where new green growth emerges and attracts bugs of all types for me and my young to feast on. The grasses can't be too thick since my legs are so small and I rely on my feet to escape predators. All of this must be within easy reach of dense cover in case someone decides to interrupt my meal. If I'm to reproduce in the area, there needs to be lots of bunch grasses like little bluestem so I have a place to make a nest. Brush piles offer protection so they wouldn't be burned right away. Everything should be done to create a new edge, a place where one habitat type meets another. When emerging from a wooded area, I would walk out into a shrub layer, then into a stretch of tall native grasses, and next to a freshly plowed strip full of food. In those four edges, I have escape cover, loafing/rearing cover, nesting area, and food all within easy reach. If a property has many areas that contain all of these types of habitat, I like what I'm seeing! Finally, I recognized that none of this happens overnight, so it needs to be done for me year after year to prove this landowner is serious about having me around before I commit to raising my family here.

Being consistent in variety
While thinking like a quail was the first step, staying consistent in my human efforts has been the ultimate key to success. Although there is no one single answer to establishing quail habitat or improving populations, as quail require a variety of habitat types and conditions, I have consistently worked on creating that variety. I consistently consider -- and implement -- what quail need for food, protection, and comfort. And I've stayed consistent in my efforts for close to five years. For those who remember a time in Central Texas when the sound of a bobwhite was not a rare thing -- a time when you, your grandpa, and the dogs could flush dozens of coveys a day -- it's important to remember that the quail didn't leave overnight and their return will take time and patience. While many point to the fire ant and other predators as the reason for the quail's demise, the reality is it has been loss of habitat. It's up to us, whether we live on three thousand, three hundred, or three acres to apply our best efforts, and patiently so, if we want the quail to return and stay. My goal began as, and remains, first, to make it possible for more birds to survive from year to year and, second, to make it happen here. I don't want the quail talking to the neighbor's kids, I want them talking to mine.