"then one fall I heard the birds no more."
That is a sad testimony to our times. I tried twice to establish viable population of quail on two different farms. In the end I did increase predators which were strictly protected at the time. If lucky there might be one covey on each farm but I would not count on it. And I had it all. Food, cover, habitat, strict limitation of human pressure and an attempt to reduce animal competition. Almost 20 years effort was for naught.
I had one game department tell me to switch to turkeys and deer because they were easier to promote. When I told him poison ivy was easy to grow but I did not want any they did not understand. Truth is that they never did any thing to help quail population succeed. It was farming practices, land use and what now are illegal predator suppression which gave quail a home. Wild rabbits are almost a thing of the past as well. I loved the sound of a beagle hunting a rabbit and the flash of a pointer working a covey or single. A sight seen rarely today and a sound almost never heard anymore. Might as well buy a cat.
Last edited by KY Jon; 06/08/13 08:32 AM.
