Quail journal helps management

A new quail hunter log book offered by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission lets hunters help monitor and manage northern bobwhite in Arkansas.

Late fall usually means one activity to bird dogs — cool, damp mornings and ideal scenting conditions throughout the day. As quail hunters are heading to the field, Game and Fish is asking for a little help recording success rates and flushed birds during their hunts.

“Hunters checking in their deer and turkeys helps track hunter effort and success, but we don’t have anything that tracks hunter effort for quail,” said Clint Johnson, quail program coordinator for Game and Fish. “As we continue habitat restoration throughout the state for northern bobwhite, the data collected in this survey will help guide future management decisions and focus on the efforts that are showing success.”

Hunters can visit https://www.agfc.com/hunting/more-game/quail and enter their data electronically as they complete each hunt. They can also email Clint.Johnson@agfc.ar.gov to receive a downloadable log book or a printed version via mail.

“Any hunts for wild birds conducted on public or private land can be recorded,” Johnson said. “Field trials and pen-raised birds shouldn’t be included.”

The quail program will send a custom decal to all hunters who submit hunting journal entries as a thank you for their commitment to conservation.

The work to conserve northern bobwhites also is critical to wild turkey and grassland birds throughout the state. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, grassland birds like northern bobwhites have seen the greatest population loss of any bird type, with a decline of more than 720 million grassland birds since 1970.