So much has changed in rural Alabama from the days when there were a fair number of coveys to be found on 100 ac's. Deer hunting rules today, and few hunter hunt small game. With deer hunters in the woods from mid October to the end of Jan. it does not leave much time for other game. The small family farms and their large gardens are mostly gone. The large herds of deer eat the plants that produce seeds for the birds. Food plots get sprayed for insects. The coyotes, hawks, 'coons, skunks, fox, feral cats, are everywhere, including the cities and towns. I'm afraid the wild birds are mostly restricted to those few rare spots where the pressure to survive is reduce simply out of luck or much hard work by a large landowner. I had a nice covey on a 60 ac tract. I plated for the birds, left fence rows with cover, pushed up some brush piles. The deer ate everything I planted, then one fall I heard the birds no more.
