Managing for Bobwhite Quail in southeast Minnesota

Bobwhites have experienced widespread declines in their populations across the United States with an estimated 81% drop in their total population since 1966. There are likely multiple factors contributing to this decline. For one, land use has changed significantly since the 1960’s. The fields and forests that used to be kept more open by grazing and prescribed burns have long since become overgrown by invasive trees and shrubs. An additional shift from small grains to row crops has not been favorable for quail either.

Additionally, fence rows that used to supply the brushy cover that quail rely on have been removed in favor of creating larger fields. Invasive species like buckthorn, honeysuckle, multiflora rose, and barberry are becoming more widespread and are outcompeting the more beneficial dogwoods, plums, and oaks that the quail rely on for food. Finally, technological advances in insecticides and herbicides have reduced the attractiveness of row crops such as corn and soybeans for quail who benefit from weedier fields.

So how can we improve quail populations in Minnesota? The first step is generating an interest among landowners. Since most of the land in southeastern Minnesota is private, if quail are going to make a comeback, it is going to take the effort of many individuals treating their entire property as a garden; this means “weeding” non-native species from old fields and woodlands and thinning of the right trees to regain the open canopy that quail need. The second step is finding the time and energy to do all this. People need to work for a living, and spending a lot of time on acreage that will have little monetary return in investment can be hard for people. However, if interest and time are available, the rest can be fairly easy.

The most beneficial practices for quail and other wildlife provide a diversity of cover. Having many different species of plants and plant types such as grasses, flowers, and shrubs provides forage for birds as well as the insects that chicks feed on. To achieve this, practices such as CP33 “Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds” or CP4D “Wildlife Habitat” can supply the maximum diversity allowed by CRP. These two practices offer a seed mix of native warm season bunch grasses and wildflowers as the base ground cover. What’s great about these practices is that they also can include a shrub component of up to 10% of the field.

Picture this in your head: It’s been 3 or 4 years since you enrolled this field in CRP. You’re walking through grass as tall as you. You walk up on a clump of wild plum trees that you planted in the middle of the field, several pheasants flush. Upon closer inspection, you see that songbirds have built nests within the confines of the thick branches. You walk up to another clump of dogwoods that you planted. This time a covey of quail gets up and flies across your field and lands near another clump of nannyberry that you planted.

There are also several other beneficial practices including CP25 “Rare and Declining Habitat”, and SAFE grass CP38E-25 “Minnesota Back Forty Pheasant.” These practices are also great options for providing native grassy cover for wildlife, but do not include the shrub component. CP16A “Shelterbelts” and CP3/3A “Tree Planting” also can provide excellent cover for wildlife.

Another useful program that the NRCS offers is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. This program provides cost share for projects occurring on working lands which can include anything from farmsteads to forests. Unlike CRP, it does not provide annual rental payments. Rather, it provides cost share for things like supplies and labor to conduct a project.