By: Paul Schattenberg
Writer: Paul Schattenberg, 210-859-5752 paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu
Contacts: Dr. Dale Rollins, Dale.Rollins@ag.tamu.edu
Dr. Maureen Frank, 830-278-9151, mgfrank@tamu.edu
Amanda Gobeli, 979-845-1851, Amanda.Gobeli@ag.tamu.edu
SAN ANTONIO — The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, San Antonio Quail Coalition and Witte Museum will present the first-ever Urban Quail Appreciation Day from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Memorial Auditorium of the Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway St., San Antonio.
The first-ever Urban Quail Appreciation Day will be held Oct. 5 in San Antonio. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
The program will begin with registration and refreshments at 8:30 a.m., followed by a welcome and presentations. Presenters will include Dr. Dale Rollins, AgriLife Extension’s statewide coordinator for the Reversing the Quail Decline Initiative, San Angelo; Dr. Maureen Frank, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist, Uvalde; and Amanda Gobeli, AgriLife Extension associate, San Angelo. The program is presented in collaboration with the Witte Museum and Texas Parks and Wildlife.
A catered lunch will be provided. The cost is $15 per person, and cash or check will be accepted. Make checks payable to Bexar Ag and Natural Resources Committee. Mail registration fee to: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, 3355 Cherry Ridge Drive, Ste. 212, San Antonio 78230.
“Urban areas might not be quail habitat anymore, but urban residents can still play a key role in helping with quail conservation,” Frank said. “Quail appreciation days teach attendees to ‘think like a quail,’ so participants can expect to leave with a different view on the wildlife and habitat around them.”
The program will cover the basics for a new student of quail, from anatomy and physiology to habitat requirements, ecology, management and predator interactions, said Rollins.
Topics will include What’s Your Quail IQ? Becoming a “Student of Quail,” Getting to Know Your Quail, Scoring Quail Habitat, Evaluating Quail Habitat, Bobwhite Brigade, Show Me the Money – Economic Impacts of Quail Hunting in Texas, Predation Management and Quail, Run for Your Life, The Mortality Mile, and Food and Water Strategies.
The program will also present “webisodes” relating to plant succession, dummy nests, hawks and quail, food plots, and bugs and bobwhites.
The program will offer two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – one general and one integrated pest management.
“Quail are a critically important species ecologically, culturally and economically,” Gobeli said. “They are prey for a variety of grassland predators, indicators of environmental health, generators of revenue for landowners and rural communities, and an iconic type of Texas wildlife.”
The deadline to RSVP is Oct. 3. RSVP to Denise Perez, 210-631-0400 or dsperez@ag.tamu.edu.
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