Coyote pups and Mom at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Center

Great pic. Good research going on here at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Center.

cool pic

Dang good pic!

Cool pic!

The quail hatch at the RPQRR is going a bit better than expected due to the rains this year. Most of the folks are volunteers and if inclined they could use you assistance

cool pics...now kill them.

X2

very cool pic but still a nusance IMHO.

X3

Very cool pic

Awesome pic

they are adorable but really annoying. great pic!

I'm thinking quail research and coyotes are not a good combination. Cool pic though.

Awesome pic.

Nice catch. Pups, They look thirsty.

That's an awesome picture

That is a neat picture, you can see the difference between mom and pups, not their first rodeo at the water trough.

You should submit that for a THF cover shot. Very cool.

Can't take credit for the pic, it was taken by one of the researchers at the ranch.

Watched yote pups for hours at Rocky Mountain National Forest. Very cool pic

That is one neat picture.

I agree. I believe the researchers are looking at ratios of quail predators to acreage and habitat including water sources. They have cams set up on all water sources, nesting areas, etc. Not to close to the scientific protocol in the research, but they are looking at all angles. Last report I got was that fire ants continued to be a major source of mortality for chicks. Nesting cover is crucial for bobs, and rain helps to grow that cover, but that also attracts fire ants is what I am hearing. Their research seems to indicate that coyotes, held in check, are not a major predator. Who knows? To me coyotes have always been "opportunistic" hunters. Given the life span of bobs around a year if lucky, it would seem that nesting predators would need to be removed. Anyway, the RPQRR is doing all they can to understand the quail decline. I did see some reports that the return of the horned toad is reducing the fire ant population to a degree.

X2

Horn frogs eat fireants? I thought they were disappearing because fire ants were out competing red harvester ants, which was a staple in the horned frog diet.

Back on subject now. Cool picture. I've always wanted to have a pet coyote... That would be illegal though : X

If you were in the right spot with a solid bullet tou could get em all in 1 shot.

A Honest man and also Very Cool Pic

Cool pic.

Ant poison (aimed at fire ants)is what killed all the horny toads


REALLY COOL PIC!!!

That is a good picture. And a interesting project.

Walter

Thanks for sharing.

I would be curious as to their findings. The coyotes in our hunting area are NOT in check. The last Prairie Chicken I saw fell victim to a coyote within 24 hours of sighting. Unfortunately we are unable to make it out there often enough to put a big dent in the predator population. It's getting so bad that it has become a rare site to see a cottontail rabbit in any given week. Twenty years ago, you couldn't drive more than 2 miles without one dashing across the road in front of you.

That's a great picture though. They have some personality.

Coyotes keep the foxes away. At the Attwater refuge, they let the yotes pass.

I would guess that is what the RPQRR is trying to validate.

They probably do keep the foxes at bay. Most of the foxes hang around town or stick to the shinery oak. We see a ton of coyotes... so many last year, that we are taking rifles and/or pistols to capitalize on them during dove season this year.

I would guess that is what the RPQRR is trying to validate.

Cool pic!

Doc, tend to agree.