HARVARD UNIVERSITY Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology THE BOBWHITE IN KANSAS GARY PACKARD^ STATE BIOLOGICALSURVEY. ywiVEFSITY OF KANSAS. I Al^ i e: University of Kansas Museum of Natural History EDITOR: E. RAYMOND HALL MisceUaneous Publication No. 32, pp. 1-12 Published November 16, 1962 Lawrence • Kansas PRINTED BY JEAN M NEIBARGER. STATE PRINTER TOPEKA, KANSAS 1 962 29-5623 The Bobwhite in Kansas By GARY PACKARD COVER Eastern Kansas has some of the finest quail range to be found anywhere. In certain areas the autumn bobwhite population is consistently high and offers exceptional hunting. However, most tracts of land afford only a fraction of the hunting that they are capable of providing, and if a few modifications were made in the existing habitat, this potential could be realized. Mabitat is where bobwhite live. In order for habitat to be good it must provide all of those things quail need in order to survive and reproduce. In the better parts of its range the bobwhite is a bird of the farm, living in hedges, brushy field borders, and odd areas unsuited for cultivation. Successful management of quail ill these areas depends upon the development of diversified vegeta- tion with cropland, grassland, brushland, and woodland repre- sented in about equal amounts and distributed in relatively small units. For a bird such as the bobwhite, which normally ranges over an area not exceeding one square mile in its entire life-time, this intcrspersion of habitat types provides for a greater number of covey territories than do large, continuous tracts of the same habitat type. Within the habitat five types of cover seem to be essential for the year-round presence of quail. The first type is dead or dor- mant grassy-herbaceous growth and durable entanglements of brush that pro\ide protection from predators and from sleet, snow. CULTIVATED LAND rCOVEY M GRASSLAND:: Interspersion of habitat increases the available for winter habitation by Management," Chas. Sc number of quail, and of covey territories quail. ( After Aldo Leopold, "Game ■ribner's Sons, New York. ) [3] rain, and wind. This can be termed "emergency cover" and is used most in late winter and early spring. The second cover type can be termed "loafing cover." Examples are the edges of brier patches, thickets of sumac and plum, and similar areas where birds can dust, scratch, or sun close to protec- tive vegetation. Next comes "nesting cover." Good nesting cover consists of un- grazed, unburned, and uncut grassy or grassy-herbaceous patches of vegetation. Since this cover is needed in the spring for nesting immediately after the breakup of the winter coveys, such growth should be in or adjacent to the winter quail range so that the pair- ing birds may easily find nesting sites. Fourth of the cover types is "movement cover," those travel Janes composed of protective plant growth along fences and adjacent to woodlots and roadsides. If a high quail population is to be main- tained, travel lanes are absolutely essential. Travel lanes allow the birds to move from one type of cover to another without being ex- posed unduly to danger. The last type of cover is known as "woodland cover." Ungrazed woodlands with tlieir excellent escape cover and abundant fall and winter food supplies are heavily utilized by quail. It should be noted that these five types of cover essential to good quail-habitat are not mutually exclusive; for example, a properly managed fence row can be both escape cover and movement cover. A properly managed fence row can provide movement cover, loafing cover, and nesting cover for bobwhites. [41 Grazed woodlots are unsuitable for late autumn and winter habitation by bobwhite owing to the absence of ground co\'er. All of the practices that are required to establish the cover types listed above can be worked into the normal farm program. In fact, many of the necessary practices are not only good quail manage- ment but also are good land management and should be encouraged on the basis of their own merit. How increase in habitat suitable for bobwhites increases their number is illustrated at Plum Thicket Farm in Barber County, Kansas. In the autumn of 1946 when Mr. Floyd T. Amsden ac- quired an overgrazed 640-acre section of land it supported two coveys totaling 25 bobwhites. By allowing native vegetation to return and by properly arranging food, water, nesting cover, and protective cover, 14 coveys of 169 birds were present in the autumn of 1948, and 37 coveys of 426 birds in 1952. Increasing density of vegetation may have accounted for the decline to 15 coveys ( 165 birds) in 1954. Grazing by cattle, beginning in 1958, opened up the cover and in the autumn of 1962 at least 25 coveys ( about 325 birds) were present although the area was being used for grazing cattle and for some other purposes. Take, for example, the question of grazing woodlands. Not only are grazed woodlands of less value aesthetically than ungrazed woodlands, but also they provide a much-reduced income from woodland products such as timber. It is impossible for a land owner to remove lumber from a grazed woodlot on a sustained [5] annual yield basis because there is no reproduction to replace felled trees; seedlings are either eaten or are so trampled that the forest floor is almost devoid of vegetation. And of course, the absence of ground cover in the woods makes the area unsuitable for late autumn and winter habitation by bobwhite. During the winter and early spring many land owners burn road- side ditches and fence rows in order to remove the dead vegetation of the previous year. Much of this vegetation would provide nest- ing cover for early nesting quail if it were left intact. When this dead growth is removed, many birds are forced to build nests in the cover made available by the early growth of wheat and alfalfa. These birds are still incubating eggs when harvesting begins, and eggs are destroyed and, frequently, incubating adults are killed. Losses of this nature could be avoided simply by leaving some of the dead grass and herbaceous growth to attract and hold early nesting quail. Construction of many more farm ponds in eastern Kansas in re- cent years has created new habitat for quail. Food plants and cover good for quail grow on the banks of properly constructed and properly fenced ponds. Quail will use this new habitat if it is continuous with other cover suitable for the birds. Since prob- lems relating to construction of dams and soil conservation also L i i.i l.i r/.«iJ'.u Undisturbed vegetation of field borders attracts early nesting quail. [6] ^SMS IT -V •''^■#->- M; ai i-iiiailc liiiisli tiit>iii;4liin(iits pnisiilc (.•xct^Ufut rnu-rgency co\fi. enter into making new impoinidments, the local Soil Conservation Service official should be consulted for detailed instructions. If fence rows are fe\N' or absent, cover strips can be established where they will least interfere with the agricultural program. Such strips 40 to 50 feet wide and located at intervals of 200 to 300 yards are best, but narrower strips have considerable value. But, under no circumstances should these cover strips be narrower than 20 feet. Frequently hedgerows and co\'er strips are established simply by not disturbing the soil. \^olunteer growth of weedy perennials can be relied upon to provide a cover of the highest quality in only a few years. Establishment of cover in these areas can be speeded up by transplanting certain native shrubs and vines. Wild or cultivated plants that have been recommended for quail use include the following: Blackberry Coral Berry (Buckbrush) Dogwood Elderberry Greenbrier Hazelnut Honeysuckle Redbud Sassafras Serviceberry Shiny Sumac Viburnum ( Black Haw) Virginia Creeper Wild Grape Wild Plum Wild Rose Multiflora rose has been used extensively in many areas and also thrives in the eastern fourth of Kansas. When properly planted this rose grows into a stock-proof hedge that provides excellent escape and travel cover for quail. Multiflora is an upright, ever-growing, thorn-bearing, bushy shrub that grows rapidly and can easily be established from seedlings. [7] Food and Water The bobwhite eats a wide range of animal and plant foods in its life time, but prefers some foods to others. Preferred foods include ragweed seeds, wild beans, and certain domestic grains, for example sorghum and foxtail millet. Preferences are apparent only among foods that are readily available; if the choicest items are not to be found, something else will be eaten. In summer, insects form an important part of the bobwhite's diet. In fact, animal matter constitutes a major portion of the food taken by chicks, thereby providing them with the high-level protein diet necessary for rapid growth. But with the onset of cooler nights and shorter days in autumn, insects become less and less abundant, and quail turn to weed seeds and grains for food. During extended periods of extreme weather the more nourishing staple foods may not be available because of ice or deep snow. Under such circumstances quail must use whatever food is accessible even though this food may not have the high nutritive value of the normally selected foods. Rose hips, sumac berries, locust beans, and other emergency foods are readily eaten. Quail usually cannot survive for more than a week on these foods in severe winter weather. This raises the question of winter feeding. It should be pointed Domestic grains are heavily utilized, particularly during winter. [8] Ice can lock up seeds. out that the problem of winter feeding is permanently solved on those lands where quail food of high quality has been estab- lished as a part of the manage- ment program. But on some areas where food or cover is deficient in either quality or in quantity, it may be necessary to employ winter feeding to insure survival of an adequate breeding stock of quail through the win- ter. However, winter feeding is justified only when the birds really need feeding. Tn every winter, regardless of its sexerity, there will be some mortality among the birds, and it should not be assumed that these losses indicate a need for additional food. Kansas does not often experience extended periods of deep snow or heavy ice that would seriously endanger quail populations. Bob- white can survive several days of heavy snow and the associated food shortages without excessive mortality providing there is good cover present to protect them from exposure. Many birds that die from exposure are wrongly thought to have starved to death; provi- sion of winter food would not affect survival of such birds. But when low ground-plants and shrubs are covered with snow or are coated with ice for upwards of live days, it may become necessary to distribute supplemental food. The task of distributing food properly belongs to farmers and sportsmen rather than to employees of the Forestry, Fish and Game Commission. Due to the large area involved and due to the pro- hibitively high cost for the purchase and distribution of food over this area, it is not feasible for the Commission to conduct such a program. It is definitely more practical for individuals to engage in small-scale, independent feeding operations. Such independent action also increases the probability of the feeding program being successful since land owners and sportsmen are able to maintain a close watch on the quail population of one or two farms. The best foods to use in winter feeding are heading types of grains. Mixtures of these grains provide a nourishing quail food that will see the birds through the critical period. It is not necessary to make available sand or any other form of grit because the birds can sur- [9] = 4.»S: I-, w- -r c.i;t''f»i'''jt'J Winter feeding practices tend to concentrate quail and to make the birds vulneral)le to predators. vive without it. An individual quail can consume as much as one half pound of artificial feed in a week, and grain must be available daily for as long as the ice-cover persists. Casual distribution of food along roadways or elsewhere, based on convenience of access, results in a needless waste of game food. If this food is to be of any value to a covey, it must be scattered in an area that is being used by the birds. In addition, the food must be scattered adjacent to good cover so that the birds have easy access to the grain without being exposed to unusual predation. The feed- ing spot should be moved occasionally since concentrations of quail will attract abnormally large numbers of predators. Most persons do not conduct a winter feeding operation with the care necessary for success; the results of such programs often harm the quail, for example by causing them to be less successful in find- ing their own food. No one should attempt winter feeding unless he has the time and the desire to see it done properly. Water requirements of bobwhite are usually satisfied by eating berries, succulent green vegetation, insects, dew, rain, and snow. Although permanent bodies of water are not necessary for bob- whites, such water is most certainly used if it is available. [10] C>onclusion On tlie preceding; pages some suggestions have been made that should help interested persons to increase quail populations and to improN'e hunting. The key to increasing the number of quail is habitat improvement. By providing a suitable place for quail to live the land o\\ ner has done his share, and from that point on the quail will do the rest. Transmitted October 10. 1962. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous Publications Institutional libraries interested in publications exchange may obtain this series by addressing the Exchange Librarian, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Requests of individuals are handled instead by the Museum of Natural His- tory, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. There is no provision for sale of this series either by the Library or the Museum. However, when individuals request copies from the Museum, the amount indicated below should be in- cluded for the purpose of defraying some of the costs of producing, wrapping and mailing. Nos. 6, 12, 17 and 27 obtainable only from the Arctic Institute. *1. The Museum of Natural History, the University oi Kansas. By E. R. Hall and Ann Murray. Pp. 1-16, illustrated. January 5, 1946. *2. Handbook of amphibians and reptiles of Kansas. By Hobart M. Smith. Pp. 1-336, 233 figures in text. September 12, 1950. *3. In memoriam, Charles Dean Bunker, 1870-1948. By E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 1-11, 1 figure in text. December 15, 1951. *4. The University of Kansas, Natural History Reservation. By Henry S. Fitch. Pp. 1-38, 4 plates, 3 figures in text. February 20, 1952. *5. Prairie chickens of Kansas. By Maurice F. Baker. Pp. 1-68, 4 plates, 15 figures in text. March 10, 1953. 6. The barren ground caribou of Keewatin. By Francis Harper. Pp. 1-163, 28 figures. October 21, 1955. Copies, paperbound, $1.50 postpaid from the Arctic Institute of North America, 1530 P Street, NVV, Washington 5, D. C. 7. Handbook of mammals of Kansas. By E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 1-303, illustrated. De- cember 13, 1955. Paperbound, $1.50 postpaid. 8. Mammals of northern Alaska, on the arctic slope. By James W. Bee and E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 1-309, frontispiece colored, 4 plates, 127 figures in text. March 10, 1956. Paperbound, $1.00 postpaid. 9. Handbook of amphibians and reptiles of Kansas. 2nd [revised] edition. By Hobart M. Smith. Pp. 1-356, 253 figures in text. April 20, 1956. Paperbound, $1.50 post- paid (cloth S4.00). *10. The raccoon in Kansas. By Howard J. Stains. Pp. 1-76, 4 plates, 14 figures in text. July 6, 1956. *11. The tree squirrels of Kansas. By Robert L. Packard. Pp. 1-67, 2 plates, 10 figures in te.\t. August 20, 1956. 12. The mammals of Keewatin. By Francis Harper. Pp. 1-94, 6 plates, 8 figures in text, 1 map. October 26, 1956. Copies, paperbound, 75 cents postpaid from the Arctic Institute of North America, 1530 P Street, NW, Washington 5, D. C. *13. 14. M6. 17. 18. *19. * 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Museumof NTatural History . . . University of Kansas. By Roy R. Moore and E. R. Hall. [An unpaged, illustrated "flier," 14'/2 in. x 8M; in., printed on both sides, and folded twice.] June 1, 1957. Vernacular names for North American mammals north of Mexico. By E. Raymond Pp. 1-16. June Pp. 1-84, 1-36, 4 Hall, Sydney Anderson, J. Knox Jones, Jr., and Robert L. Packard. 19, 1957. The ecology of bobwTiites in south-central Kansas. By Thane S. Robinson. 2 plates, 11 figures in text. September 6, 1957. Natural history of the prairie dog in Kansas. By Ronald E. Smith. Pp. plates, 9 figures in te.xt. June 17, 1958. Birds of the Ungava Peninsula. By Francis Harper. Pp. 1-171, 6 plates, 26 figures in text. October 15, 1958. Copies, paperbound, $2.00 postpaid from the Arctic Institute of North America, 1530 P Street, NW, Wa'ihington 5, D. C. Furbearers in Kansas: A guide to trapping. By Howard J. Stains and RoUin H. Baker. Pp. 1-100, 2 plates, 13 figures in te.\t. November 19, 1958. Paperbound, 50 cents postpaid. Natural History Museum. By Roy R. Moore and E. R. Hall. [An unpaged, illustrated "flier," 14M; in. x 8V2 in., printed on both sides, and folded twice.] May 29, 1959. Handbook of gastropods in Kansas. By A. Byion Leonard. Pp. 1-224, plates 1-11, 87 figures in text. November 2, 1959. Paperbound, $1.00 (cloth $2.00) postpaid. Management of channel catfish in Kansas. By Jackson Davis. Pp. 1-56, 8 figures in text. November 2, 1959. Hand-list of the birds of Kansas. By Richard F. Johnston. Pp. 1-6 [folded twice]. May 7, 1960. Directory to the bird-life of Kansas. By Richard F. Johnston. Pp. 1-69, 1 figure in text. August 31, 1960. Natural History Museum. By Roy R. Moore and E. R. Hall. [An unpaged, illustrated "flier," 14y2 in. x 8V2 in., printed on both sides, and folded twice.] October 19, 1960. Guide to the Panorama of North American Mammals. By E. Raymond Hall, ct al. Pp. 1-31, silhouettes in black and white of Panorama, life-zones, and taped com- mentary for each zone. December 15, 1960. Beaver in Kansas. By F. Robert Henderson. Pp. 1-85, illustrated. December 16, 1960. Land and fresh-water mammals of the Ungava Peninsula. By Francis Harper. Pp. 1-178, plates 1-8, 3 figures in text. August 11, 1961. Paperbound, $2.00 postpaid from the Arctic Institute of North America, 1530 P Street, NW, Washington 5, D. C. Handbook of unionid mussels in Kansas. Bv Harold D. Murray and A. Byron Leonard. Pp. 1-184, 45 plates, 42 figures. May 10, 1962. Paperbound, $1.00 postpaid. Farm ponds in Douglas County, Kansas. By Claude E. Hastings and Frank B. Cross. Pp. 1-21. May 17, 1962. Collecting and preparing study specimens of vertebrates. By E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 1-46, 34 figures. May 21, 1962. Paperbound, 50 cents postpaid. Natural History Museum. By Roy R. Moore and E. R. Hall. [An unpaged, il- lustrated "flier," 14V' in. x 8% in., printed on both sides, and folded twice.] June 1, 1962. The Bobwhite in Kansas. Bv Garv Packard. Pp. 1-12, illustrated. November 16, 1962. m. t'''t*