Wild Quail in Middle Tennessee?

[Sidewinder]

Are there any wild quail left in Middle Tennessee? Loved hunting them as a teen, even though they would scare the daylights out of me when they would explode in balls of feathers, upon being flushed from a fence row or thicket.

[quietguy]

We have a decent little covey on our place in western Middle Tennessee.  They got pretty depleted about the time that coyote population increased, so we have left them alone for several years hoping they would reestablish.  It looks like they are slowing coming back.  

[Sidewinder]

I grew up on a farm in the '50s. We had three or four fairly good sized coveys there on the farm. One covey had an albino in it. We wouldn't shoot into it. Later, there were other birds with albino white spots on them. I went into the military, so I have no idea what happened to them. My cousin owns the farm now and every inch is in row crops... no thickets, no fence rows, no sloughs, and no small stream through the middle of it anymore. Probably no more quail around there either. I love wild quail fried in a black iron skillet, like southern fried chicken. Last time I was home, I had some in a restaurant... didn't even taste like quail. I guess those days are long gone.

[Ronald_55]

My Dad says his Papaw and Dad tried to re-establish them on family land here in East TN, but that house cats would pick off all the quail. I am not sure I have ever seen one on that land. Sad too, I always wanted to bird hunt.

Those are sone good looking birds you took.

[bersaguy]

1 hour ago, Ronald_55 said:

My Dad says his Papaw and Dad tried to re-establish them on family land here in East TN, but that house cats would pick off all the quail. I am not sure I have ever seen one on that land. Sad too, I always wanted to bird hunt.

Those are sone good looking birds you took.

I would not think house cats would have got them. Maybe Bob Cats, Foxes and Coyote's but I doubt house cats. House cats would be part of the food chain themselves if there is land capable of supporting a covey or 2 of Quail on it..........JMHO

[Whisper]

My father has tried to reestablish a quail population on his land near Manchester; he's worked with Quail Unlimited and started a couple of coveys that are around for a year or two and then disappear.  We don't know if they move away or are all killed off -- we aren't hunting them.  Dad's too old to work on a project like this any more so I guess it will eventually fall to me or else it will be abandoned.  It's too bad that quail hunting has about died out across the South.  Some of my most enjoyable memories of the outdoor sports involve quail hunting.

[bersaguy]

My buddy and I when growing up use to hunt Pheasant and Quail in southern Illinois but last time I spoke with him he said he and his son still hunt them but their numbers are way down in both species so the creel limit on both species has been cut way down almost making it not worth hunting quail but they still hunt Pheasants. 

[chances R]

.let's see, different farming practices, no grown up fence rows, TWRA concerned only about big game, house cats, skunks, coons, foxes, coyotes, hawks, fescue pastures..... all equal to quail have no chance.  There is a lonely quail heard every once in a while when I am out, but not like back when

[10-Ring]

I live right in the middle of several hundred acres that would be ideal quail habitat.  Used to be some around but I haven't busted a covey in years.  I did see a single quail a couple of weeks ago.  I blame the increase of predators.

[Sidewinder]

On 7/29/2017 at 4:00 PM, quietguy said:

We have a decent little covey on our place in western Middle Tennessee.  They got pretty depleted about the time that coyote population increased, so we have left them alone for several years hoping they would reestablish.  It looks like they are slowing coming back.  

 

On 7/29/2017 at 4:47 PM, Ronald_55 said:

My Dad says his Papaw and Dad tried to re-establish them on family land here in East TN, but that house cats would pick off all the quail. I am not sure I have ever seen one on that land. Sad too, I always wanted to bird hunt.

Those are sone good looking birds you took.

I have never seen the house cats get a quail, but a friend of mine and an avid bird hunter says they do. He also told me that he watched a hawk take out a few from a busted covey... some in mid-air!

 

[Sidewinder]

On 7/30/2017 at 3:33 PM, chances R said:

.let's see, different farming practices, no grown up fence rows, TWRA concerned only about big game, house cats, skunks, coons, foxes, coyotes, hawks, fescue pastures..... all equal to quail have no chance.  There is a lonely quail heard every once in a while when I am out, but not like back when

It does seem that everything is against the quail. I've even heard that turkeys will destroy the nests and eat the newly hatched birds. Being a ground nesting bird puts them at a big disadvantage also. I've also heard that fire ants have destroyed the quail in some southern states.

 

[seez52]

There are a few here. Usually flush them as I go down the driveway. Neighbor said there have been quail in the location of my driveway for decades as he hunted them as a kid. I also hear a few out back, but it's spotty. 

Old guy I worked with eons ago used to bring fried ones for lunch pretty often. They were tasty! 

[AECS]

The upland bird hunting is the one thing I miss about the CA valley, dove galore, Pheasant, quail, Chucker, and even Ptarmigan.  Man, I miss bird hunting.  Dove is coming, but I have yet to find a place to shoot them.  Out west there are millions of acres of public BLM land and most private land is not posted for birds, as the farmers welcome us getting rid of them.  So much open land here, and so many grumpy owners post or want crazy lease fees.  I come here for freedom, but cant hunt unless I am a millionaire... 

[peejman]

9 hours ago, AECS said:

So much open land here, and so many grumpy owners post or want crazy lease fees.  I come here for freedom, but cant hunt unless I am a millionaire... 

Welcome to TN.

One of my wife's cousins has a big farm near Dunlap and was trying to develop some quail.  They have a big dove hunt there every year.  We were just target shooting in one of the fields and he said... "If you shoot the cows or quail, I'll shoot you.  If you don't shoot the coyotes, I'll shoot you.  Anything else is between you and the game warden."   

 

[rbishop]

I had a Setter up until about 2005.  The last place I hunted was an old overgrown farm.  There was a large covey there and I had one other covey on my uncle's farm in a small section that he didn't work or run cattle on.  I think the biggest downfall of the wild quail has been the change in farming techniques.  Farmers utilize all of the land these days. No more overgrown fence rows. No areas left untilled.  At least that was my thoughts back in 2005 when the only two locations that I hunted were both on overgrown farm land.

 

Edited August 8, 2017 by rbishop

[chances R]

yep, if you grow fescue you generally can't grow quail

 

[Sidewinder]

On 8/4/2017 at 11:59 PM, seez52 said:

There are a few here. Usually flush them as I go down the driveway. Neighbor said there have been quail in the location of my driveway for decades as he hunted them as a kid. I also hear a few out back, but it's spotty. 

Old guy I worked with eons ago used to bring fried ones for lunch pretty often. They were tasty! 

Oh, I'll take some southern fried quail over any meat or fish! It seems there are a lot of things against the quail population, as pointed out in this thread. Hunting the pen raised ones is almost like hunting cripples and it's too expensive for me.

[Sidewinder]

On 8/9/2017 at 8:15 AM, chances R said:

yep, if you grow fescue you generally can't grow quail

 

Is the fescue harmful to the birds or it it just not enough cover?

[Sidewinder]

On 8/7/2017 at 10:04 PM, AECS said:

The upland bird hunting is the one thing I miss about the CA valley, dove galore, Pheasant, quail, Chucker, and even Ptarmigan.  Man, I miss bird hunting.  Dove is coming, but I have yet to find a place to shoot them.  Out west there are millions of acres of public BLM land and most private land is not posted for birds, as the farmers welcome us getting rid of them.  So much open land here, and so many grumpy owners post or want crazy lease fees.  I come here for freedom, but cant hunt unless I am a millionaire... 

I used to find some good hunting in West Tennessee in the mid '60's. Guess it's all gone now. A friend and I had one farmer that was also a school bus driver, that let us hunt any time we wanted. We always gave him our game...sort of payment for letting us hunt.

[chances R]

3 hours ago, Sidewinder said:

Is the fescue harmful to the birds or it it just not enough cover?

Too thick.  When you let the native grass grow like blue stem it provides cover but allows birds to run on the ground 

[shotgunshooter]

There are some on my dad's farms and at our house. Not many but they are still around. They will never be back here like they were in the 1970s or 1980s (wish I would have seen it) but they have made a slow come back. My aunt is going to start raising them and releasing them but who knows how that will work out.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[rbishop]

I am amused when I see or hear people talk about hunting pen raised birds, about how much fun they are to shoot.  If you have ever experienced hunting wild quail, pen raised birds are laughable.  I have watched TV shows where they basically have to kick the bird out of its cover to get it to fly.  That is NOT quail hunting!  I wonder if all of the "plantations" down in South Georgia have pen raised birds?  Or maybe if some of them still have some wild birds?  I know they are very expensive and I have always assumed they just cater to people who can afford to pay high prices to "simulate" quail hunting.

[martin5]

I have a lease in Waynesboro that connects to Eagle Creek WMA. I have heard quail up on Eagle Creek several times. The clear cuts are grown up nice. I would say its pretty good cover for them. The only downfall is all the coyotes.

[Bubba Fett]

A dear friend owns an old farm near Franklin, TN.  Growing up, I remember us busting Quail when we were walking along the fences or the railroad tracks and fishing in the creeks.

I hadn't seen one in years, though, until Dad and I busted a pair of them when we were checking trail cameras up on the farm a few weeks back.  We thought they were big pigeons or doves when we first saw them, but the distinct features on their head gave them away.  No pictures of them on the cameras, sadly, but we've seen them a few times out in the hay field.  

The best we can figure is the hunting pressure we've been putting on the coyotes has given them a chance to make a go of it? Or maybe they're just passing through?  Whatever the case, they're fun to listen to while we're waiting on 'yotes or tending the trails and cameras.

[Eddie Southgate]

On 7/29/2017 at 6:14 PM, bersaguy said:

I would not think house cats would have got them. Maybe Bob Cats, Foxes and Coyote's but I doubt house cats. House cats would be part of the food chain themselves if there is land capable of supporting a covey or 2 of Quail on it..........JMHO

You would probably be surprised . Feral house cats kill a ton of Quail every year . Hawks and Owls probably account for a fair few also . 

Edited October 14, 2017 by Eddie Southgate