WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD: A QUICK LOOK AT THE QUAIL AND SMALL WILDLIFE STATION

By Tim Milligan, Landowner Services

While on a property installing a quail station the other day, it dawned on me that there is a simple way to explain what we are trying to do with this great new product, and a simple reason why it makes so much sense.

The property where we did the install is the landowner's country place, a piece of land the family loves but is not as centrally located as their city place, where they make their home --  a place close to jobs and schools and day-to-day conveniences.

Where I grew up in Austin was the city equivalent to good quail habitat. We lived where we did because of the area. There were nicer areas I'm sure, but none that I know of were quite as complete as my neighborhood. There were grocery stores, gas stations, a hardware store, banks, schools, a hospital, restaurants and a park, all within walking distance. We lived there because at  any given time we didn't have to venture far to get anything we needed and most things we wanted.

A quail lives life much the same way and by many of the same rules we do. They need a great neighborhood where they can put down roots and raise a family. The less they have to travel to get what they need, the better chance they'll have of making it from year to year and bringing up young.  If they can find a place that meets their needs for both habitat and food in close proximity, they'll stay there and not leave until something changes.

The Plateau Quail and Small Wildlife Station helps provide vital pieces of that habitat neighborhood and, by doing so, provides a boost to your quail and other small wildlife's survival by keeping their travel time to a minimum. If these vulnerable little species have to spend too much time out in the open looking to satisfy any one need, they will not last long -- or they will just find some place better suited to their way of life.

Whether you have done a considerable amount of work to create habitat, or have been blessed with great cover and nesting grasses from the very beginning, you may still be lacking a couple of key ingredients for your quail, songbirds and other small wildlife. Think about adding a grocery store and gas station to the neighborhood and just see if the number of families in the area doesn't increase over time. As it becomes more convenient to live there, you may end up with the most desirable wildlife neighborhood.

The Quail and Small Wildlife Station is available from Plateau and is a great fit for almost any property. Contact us to discuss your goals and habitat and see if the Plateau Quail and Small Wildlife Station is the right new addition to your neighborhood.

Welcome to the neighborhood. The Plateau Quail and Small Wildlife Station.

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.