TX panhandle 2017

wow you must have found a honey spot, congrats

Whacking roosters. Sweet.

Nice, any young /short spurred birds

Yes there was several this year birds, all the rain last spring sure did help out.

What I like to hear!!!

I saw a few in Oct, while antelope hunting but I didn’t make it back to bird hunt.

Yes sir, population is still really healthy as of right now, when we were back out in the fields chasing quial we flushed numerous pheasant.

Four good wet years now. I think going to have to make a trip during season.

NICE!

What part of the panhandle?

We had some good days, we had some bad days this last season, but if this deal doesn't change soon I'm afraid what next year is going to be like! It is dry!!!

Around the Dimmitt area, and yes we need moisture in a hurry

Awesome. Forrest

Confused... My father in law has 80 acres of prime quail habitat near Vernon, it's surrounded by cow pasture & cotton (so quail have nowhere else to go). Two seasons ago my young pup (8mos at that time) must have wild flushed 400 quail.. Once she figured it out we did good for 2 days till we had to leave. Went back this year and only flushed 10 quail.. I was told it was due to the wet springs. But here you say wet spring helps?

I guarantee you that a wet spring, if there was one in that area, had nothing to do with the quail decline of this past season. And it was not the eyeworm either. Hot weather, no rain, no food, no cover, ice in the first week of January on an already weak bird starved the birds to death. With no cover, the weak birds were susceptible of avarian predators like never before. I don’t ever see anyone mention hawks and owls, but the Quail-Tech studies show that they are responsible for over 60% of quail mortality. We are going to have to feed the birds year round until this drought cycle moves out.

Yeah, it's amazing how much that 80 acres has declined in the 7 years I've been going. Use to be nice trees there, now they are all dead and blown over. There also use to be a lot of prickly pear cactus there and I didn't see hardly any this year. Wild plum bushes are growing like wildfire though.

Sounds like the family had the land in a brush control program.