A bobwhite quail translocation study currently underway on private property in Polk County has shown some promising results and interesting findings regarding predation of active nests this year, according to Brad Kubecka, the Western Gamebird Director for Tall Timbers.
Tall Timbers is an internationally recognized wildlife research station based in Florida. The outfit has more than 60 years of experience studying fire-adapted ecosystems and advocating for the use of prescribed fire to benefit quail, wild turkey and other wildlife habitat while reducing wildfire risks.
The ongoing study launched in 2019 on Russell Gordy’s Rock Creek Ranch — 9,000 acres of upland pine savannah near Onalaska. Kubecka has been overseeing the project from the start.
Kubecka said in a recent Facebook post that 159 nests had been documented since the study got underway and that quail numbers are climbing. Each nest has been photographed and georeferenced to evaluate factors influencing nest survival. About 90 of these nests have also been monitored with game cameras, Kubecka said.
The biologist said the study has turned up lots of data to pore over. Some of this data was explored by Trey Johnson as part of his dissertation which he successfully defended last month, he said.
“Spoiler alert: fire ants haven’t been a big problem…” Kubecka wrote. “Rat snakes have been number one among years. And this year, surprisingly, pigs have contributed a good bit to nest depredation events. During the first two years of study, pigs had minimal influence despite being documented on camera at least four nests, taking only one. This year, about 30 percent of failed nests have been due to pigs. Believe it or not, no published nesting study (that I am aware of) has photographic evidence of pigs depredating wild quail nests.”
