Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu

Contact: Justin Hansard, 940-894-2831, j-hansard@tamu.edu

NOCONA – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service offices in Montague and Clay counties will conduct a Quail Appreciation Day from 8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m. May 6.

The program will start at the Nocona Community Center and then travel to the Goolsby Ranch, located on U.S. Highway 82 about 8 miles west of Nocona.

The Quail Appreciation Day concept is aimed at landowners, naturalists and others interested in actively managing their properties for the betterment of wild native quail, said Justin Hansard, AgriLife Extension agent in Montague County.

“This program will cover a wide range of quail-related topics tailored to our area,” Hansard said. “As the program title indicates, our goal is to instill an appreciation and understanding of the factors contributing to maintaining a healthy wild quail population. We also want attendees to leave the program with a clear understanding of what they can do to implement these land management techniques on their own places to promote the birds’ robust survival.”

The program will include an update from Hansard on the Montague/Clay counties Texas Quail Index. Dr. Dale Rollins, retired AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist and current executive director of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch at Roby, will present: Getting to Know Your Quail, Scoring Quail Habitat, Research Updates, Operation Idiopathic Decline and Bobwhite Brigade/Quail Masters.

Following a catered lunch, the afternoon tour will start with the following topics discussed at the respective stops:

Tour Stop 1 – Assessing Quail Nesting Cover, Dummy Nests, Interpreting Nest Depredation Evidence and Assessing Predator Trends.

Stop 2 – Evaluating Quail Habitat, Estimating Quail Abundance and Key Plants for Quail.

Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered.

Individual registration is $20 due upon arrival. For more information and to RSVP by May 4, contact Hansard at 940-894-2831, j-hansard@tamu.edu .

The Quail Appreciation Day is one component of AgriLife Extension’s Reversing the Decline of Quail Initiative. For more information on the quail decline initiative, go to http://wildlife.tamu.edu/quail .