2011

Ever Seen a Bird Dog Parade or Strolled Down Bird Dog Alley?

Posted by Bill White on Dec 29, 2011

If you love dogs, you need to put this event on the calendar! For the first time, Pheasants Forever's National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic will be held Feb. 17-19, 2012, at the Kansas City Convention Center in downtown Kansas City, Mo.

Winter Covey Headquarters Newsletter Now Available

Frank Loncarich approaches two dogs on point.

Posted by Travis Dinsdale, Area Biologist, St. Jospeh, MO on Dec 23, 2011

The Winter Covey Headquarters Newsletter is now available. Sign up for it now.

Time to Build Next Year’s Covey Headquarters

Posted by Travis Dinsdale, Area Biologist, St. Joseph on Dec 5, 2011

You can’t beat the state nursery for affordable conservation seedlings.

Shelter From the Coming Storms

Tree cut down beside open field to create quail habitat

Posted by Jeff Powelson, Private Land Conservationist, St. Joseph on Nov 21, 2011

Brush piles might look rough to you, but to wildlife, they look like shelter from the storm.

5 comments

Time to Order Tree and Shrub Seedlings

Posted by Jeff Powelson on Nov 16, 2011

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s George O. White Tree nursery is gearing up for another season of tree seedling sales.

If It's Green in November, Spray It!

Posted by Max Alleger on Oct 28, 2011

Fall is a great time to find and control invasive plants.

8 comments

Counting Quail

Man's hand holds a late-season quail chick

Posted by Max Alleger on Oct 20, 2011

Ongoing covey counts indicate mixed quail-hunting prospects across the Show-Me State.

The State of the Bobwhite

Posted by Max Alleger on Oct 13, 2011

Check out this new, range-wide bobwhite conservation report.

Partnership to Benefit Private Landowners

Posted by Bill White on Oct 6, 2011

Habitat Challenge Grant funds will help improve habitat for quail and early successional wildlife.

6 comments

Fall Projects for Quail Managers

Posted by Scott Sudkamp on Sep 26, 2011

With quail season still a month and a half away, die-hard bird hunters may be wondering what to do on weekends between now and Nov. 1.

4 comments

Food of the Gods, Cause of the Sneeze

Landowner on tractor pulls disk field to promote ragweed growth

Posted by Scott Sudkamp on Sep 13, 2011

I’m not sure how ragweed attained such a regal genus name. I don’t know anyone who eats it, or even has tried it, but to a quail, the title is certainly well-earned.

Drinking From a Firehose

Biologists afield at Tall Timbers Quail Tour in Florida

Posted by Elsa Gallagher on Sep 12, 2011

In Missouri, I feel like we’re already ahead of the curve on quail management both on private lands and public lands–-we like fire for quail, and we know quail need the kind of habitat that well-planned and executed prescribed burns create. But be assured (like Scarlett says, “as God is my witness”) if there is a better, faster, cheaper way to create quail successes, this group will find it.

Physics Lessons for Quail Managers

Posted by Scott Sudkamp on Sep 7, 2011

To be more successful managing quail on your farm, look for ways to increase the amount of space they can use for the most days of the year.

How Many Different Calls Does a Bobwhite Quail Make?

Posted by Bill White on Aug 24, 2011

Click the video tab on this page to find out. There will be a quiz later!

4 comments

Calling "Quiet Quail"

Posted by Bill White on Aug 10, 2011

I have a friend who calls quail. He doesn't use a phone or other fancy electronics. He mimics the fall covey call or, as I like to say, their "come-hither" call.

Have any of you been seeing baby quail, pheasant or turkeys?

Posted by Travis Dinsdale on Aug 2, 2011

Now is the time you should start seeing broods.

11 comments

Check Your Brood Habitat Now

Photo shows quail chick in brood habitat

Posted by Travis Dinsdale on Jul 21, 2011

Imagine if you were half the size of your thumb and had to catch insects the first 14 days of your life to survive. For the millions of newly hatched Missouri quail chicks this is a reality.

5 comments

Give Your Birds A Break

Posted by Travis Dinsdale on Jul 15, 2011

According to the calendar, quail nesting season is beginning to wind down. Or is it?

1 comment

What Plant Is This?

Photo shows prairie plant response to prescribed burn

Posted by Travis Dinsdale on Jul 5, 2011

Now is the time when several quail-friendly plants are flowering or producing seed and are relatively easy to identify.

2 comments

Missouri Quail Summit a Success!

Posted by Bill White on Jun 22, 2011

What do you call it when you get 175 landowners, biologists and quail researchers together? A SUCCESS!

Wanted: The Unwanted

Posted by Jeff Powelson on Jun 14, 2011

Its ability to thrive under a variety of conditions and its tendency to crowd out more palatable plants are among the reasons it has become noxious in some states.

4 comments

Register Now for Missouri Quail Summit and Bradford Farm Field Tours

Posted by Bill White on Jun 10, 2011

Quail are making a comeback, and conservationists will be flocking to the Missouri Bobwhite Quail Summit to help bring back these native birds.

1 comment

What Do I Do Now?

Posted by Jeff Powelson on Jun 9, 2011

Check out “The Covey Headquarters” quarterly newsletter. This free publication is published four times a year and is filled with timely habitat management tips, suggestions and success stories from landowners throughout the Midwest.

4 comments

Building Better Brood Habitat

Posted by Max Alleger on May 31, 2011

Reduce dominant grasses to create prime brooding cover.

Brood Habitat: Where the Bugs Are

Posted by Max Alleger on May 24, 2011

Weedy brood habitat is best for bugs and bobwhites.

1 comment

Surf Over to the NBCI Website

Posted by Max Alleger on May 11, 2011

Quail enthusiasts will want to add the NBCI website to their "favorites" list.

1 comment

Go Eat a Bug

Posted by Max Alleger on May 2, 2011

Insects are an important food for quail chicks and nesting hens.

The Basics of Bobwhite Nesting

Posted by Scott Sudkamp on Apr 26, 2011

Through 80-plus years of study, wildlife researchers have made some surprising discoveries about the bobwhite's reproduction.

1 comment

Turkasaurus Rex?

Posted by Scott Sudkamp on Apr 18, 2011

Many hunters are convinced that the wild turkey is some super predator, crashing through the thickets and fields like the T. rex from Jurassic Park. But there’s no evidence to suggest this is the case.

4 comments

Too Much Grass?

Photo of diverse grassland, including wildflowers

Posted by Scott Sudkamp on Apr 11, 2011

“What’s this?” you say. “I thought quail needed grass.” Well, it’s certainly true that quail need some grass as part of their habitat, but, through research, we know that they don’t need as much as many folks think. We also know that their populations can decline when we have too much of it.

What the Heck is “Early Successional Habitat”?

Posted by Scott Sudkamp on Apr 5, 2011

Readers who follow habitat management literature have probably run across the term “early successional management.” This is one of those terms that biologists and land managers use often. But because it’s not used much by anyone else, it may leave many scratching their heads about what it means. In short, it means weed patches.

3 comments

Spring Into Action

Posted by Chris McLeland on Apr 1, 2011

Begin improving the wildlife habitat on your farm by converting fescue.

Planting Dead Sticks

Posted by Bill White on Mar 25, 2011

Treat shrub plantings like you would a crop or garden.

1 comment

Are You A Pole Burner?

Posted by Bill White on Mar 2, 2011

Don’t let your passion for wildlife restoration burn out of control. Attend a prescribed burn workshop near you, then follow your burn plan!

1 comment

Spring 2011 Covey Headquarters Newsletter Now Available

Posted by Bill White on Feb 26, 2011

This issue is packed with information on quail habitat management techniques and activities to be conducted during the spring, as well as other timely topics.