Texas Hunting Forum

Owls and Quail

Posted By: throckmorton_hunter

Owls and Quail - 08/16/16 07:37 PM


I have had owls in a couple of my blinds and have taken care of them ..
Given they hunt mostly at night I never thought of owls taking out many quail . Mostly rats , etc which is a good thing .

What is your thoughts ? I may have to put them back on the BAD list
Posted By: jeffbird

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/16/16 08:54 PM

That is going the wrong direction. Nesting in a blind mostly likely would be Barn Owls. They primarily hunt rodents and small snakes. The rodents are far more likely to cause adverse impacts on quail than the Barn Owl.

Skunks and coons are another predator on quail nests, and Great Horned Owls eat both and prefer skunks, so they definitely are helping.

Overall, I've not heard of owls ever taking quail. Not saying it never happens, but they certainly are way down the list behind loss of habitat, ants, chemicals, coons, coyotes, and snakes as an issue for quail.
Posted By: bill oxner

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/16/16 09:57 PM

I had a Johnny house across the road. Owls roosted in nearby trees. They never seemed to bother the quail.
Posted By: throckmorton_hunter

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/16/16 11:46 PM

Thanks , looks like the Owls will stay on the good list

Thanks for the feedback
Posted By: colt45-90

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/17/16 01:48 PM

Originally Posted By: throckmorton_hunter

I have had owls in a couple of my blinds and have taken care of them ..
Given they hunt mostly at night I never thought of owls taking out many quail . Mostly rats , etc which is a good thing .

What is your thoughts ? I may have to put them back on the BAD list

"taken care of them" meaning?
Posted By: duckbill

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/17/16 02:14 PM

Originally Posted By: colt45
Originally Posted By: throckmorton_hunter

I have had owls in a couple of my blinds and have taken care of them ..
Given they hunt mostly at night I never thought of owls taking out many quail . Mostly rats , etc which is a good thing .

What is your thoughts ? I may have to put them back on the BAD list

"taken care of them" meaning?


Don't ask don't tell
Posted By: Mundo

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/17/16 06:44 PM

They eat a lot of stuff that eats quail. Since they mostly hunt at night when quail on the roost, I'd say they almost never take quail. If they are in a blind they are likely barn owls. They hunt by sound at night. (a barn owl can hit a mouse squeak every time in a pitch black room.
Posted By: slow944

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/17/16 08:32 PM

I thought all Owls and Hawks were federally protected, just like eagles. Hope you didn't do something foolish.
Posted By: Nitronx898

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/18/16 02:14 AM

I was sitting in my bow blind last year and had a covey of quail under my feeder eating when all of a sudden a red tail hawk came swooping down trying to get one. It was a heck of a racket with quail going everywhere and the hawk taking chase to one of them flying off. Not sure if he caught one or not, but about 30 minutes later they came back out for some more corn when the hawk came back in and caught one in full flight. It was a cool thing to watch. Just hate to see him catch one but that's the law of nature.
Posted By: Wacm

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/18/16 02:08 PM

It's hard to beleive they even exist. So many things eat them. We had this discussion at the lease last weekend. There were roadrunners prowling the roads everywhere on Friday. On Sunday there were dead roadrunners all over the roads outside of our lease.
On my way out I saw a red pickup with dog boxes in the bed. Pulled up the say hi to the stranger. He was putting away a rifle as I pulled up. We talked about hunting for quite a while. On departure I mentioned the dead roadrunners. He said I guess the old coyote finally caught the bird. I just can't shoot a roadrunner. We have so many quail on the lease right now I'm hoping I never have to consider it. I did kill a skunk..yay
Posted By: reeltexan

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/22/16 05:24 PM


We have plenty of hawks and owls these days.
No need to worry.
Posted By: colt45-90

Re: Owls and Quail - 08/22/16 09:40 PM

Originally Posted By: slow944
I thought all Owls and Hawks were federally protected, just like eagles. Hope you didn't do something foolish.
if they are not they should be, my Dad would kick ars for some one shooting hawks
Posted By: huntwest

Re: Owls and Quail - 09/04/16 03:03 PM

Every predator eats quail at one time of another.
Owls, Hawks, roadrunners. It is just nature.
Posted By: MoBettaHuntR

Re: Owls and Quail - 09/06/16 02:11 PM

They are federally protected but only because of the decimation we did with DDT did years ago. At least what I have always heard. There are so many hawks ruling the skies in areas with human influence now. I find them fascinating but think our protection of them and their ability to adapt to urban areas has created a population "explosion" overtime. In the city they are great catching rats and mice. Rural areas not so much.

I think some sort of management rule o practice should be put in place just based on quail populations alone if nothing else. I know there are a lot of other factors eye worms, pesticides etc. However if you look up around interstates, semi rural communities, crop fields, mowed areas, etc. anywhere you can see the ground/short cover for more than a few acres chances are there are hawks hunting it. Ground species like quail don't stand a chance.

There might be instances where they don't bother quail populations with just one hawk in an area. Ive seen numerous times where farming, ranching, development, construction activity directly impacts quail habitat. Any large scale impact of grassland. This would be fine except the birds of prey. Many different species of hawks in Texas now that you can see routinely in many different habitats with major populations rises. Used to be just rare/occasional sightings. Deer feeders out in the open are common death sentences for a local covey. Routine mowing. ANyhow there is my rant.
Posted By: Wacm

Re: Owls and Quail - 09/06/16 02:43 PM

Yup I agree. I saw three circling the field as we dove hunted. I'd of been happier it it was just one. You don't see owls prowling all day like that. At night the coveys are huddled up together is a safe place. Hawks get them when they are out and vulnerable.
I set up a Jonney house on my property. Quail did fine for a week. Then I noticed a pair of Hawks circling one day. A few days later only one quail came back.
Posted By: ntxtrapper

Re: Owls and Quail - 09/12/16 01:03 AM

Originally Posted By: colt45
Originally Posted By: slow944
I thought all Owls and Hawks were federally protected, just like eagles. Hope you didn't do something foolish.
if they are not they should be, my Dad would kick ars for some one shooting hawks


Prior to 1972 hawks and owls were considered nuisance predators and were hunted for sport and control. My grandfather was always bitter about not being able to hunt them anymore. Hopefully quail don't ever get added to the list.
Posted By: krmitchell

Re: Owls and Quail - 09/12/16 02:23 PM

Originally Posted By: slow944
I thought all Owls and Hawks were federally protected, just like eagles. Hope you didn't do something foolish.


They are, he simply could have boarded up the windows when the owls weren't in there to get rid of them. At least that is what we are going to do on a blind inhabited by an owl family. Just waiting for the babies to get out of the nest.
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