Bobwhite Quail habitat for our non-resident hunters a bit of a mystery. The aerials below show the basic types of quail habitat that along with the ground level photos on other pages in this section give a more complete picture of what is prime quail habitat and where to go quail hunting in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Basic TypesIsolated scrub patches. From the road this farm does give the appearance of being worthless. Which is not true. For all the times this website author has hunted this spot never have hunter or dog tracks been spotted and always a covey raised.
The covey on this farm ranges from 20 to 30 birds and found from the water's edge to the several small tree patches. When flushed the covey has a tendency to remain intact and fly into the nearest cover. The worst case is the covey may fly across property lines. The best case is some quick action on a double flush from the same covey. Compartmental fields are circular areas of edge habitat particularly productive for singles points as coveys flush to areas within the enclosed fields.
These are good to quail hunt as bird dogs are contained well within observable range, walking distances are shorter and fields are frequently un-hunted as hunters may miss a field through not taking the effort to walk through a wooded area or not having boot enough to cross streams. Quail dogs have a good time of it as the coveys typically slowly disintegrate into singles. The worst result may be the entire covey flushes into the wooded area making shooting very difficulty and keeping up with the bird dogs on running singles and small groups a bit of a chore. From covey point, through small groups to singles action has lasted up to 40 minutes before they pull the mysterious disappearing act bobwhites are famous for. Linear edge such as found along fence rows with small patches of brush or intersecting with streams or other fence lines hold coveys. Ideal for the long running stanch pointer.
While bobwhites will be found along all these types of cover having a grain field nearby completes the elements for good bird hunting. The toughest cover for the lone hunter. The coveys and singles nearly invariably will flush out the opposite side of the linear cover allowing intermittent shooting through breaks. Even when bird dogs point on the far side the bobwhite seems to know to avoid the hunter and flush straight over the dog. The best case is when the covey and singles continue to flush down the cover allowing for many repeat opportunities. While we show three quail habitat examples on this page we do not presupposed these are the only areas to find coveys. They happen to be the "typical" cover and a sampling of the what can be found in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. For most bird hunters the central plains area is favorable hunting compared to the northern grouse woods or southwest cactus range. In the central mid-west rarely if ever does a hunter carry a compass, snakes while they do live in this part of the country are rarely seen and never a problem to man or hunting dog and without cactus a day's walk is with the enjoyment of looking over the scenery and not being always careful where to step. Add to this our mild, never as hot as the south and never as cold or snow covered as the north weather, both dog and hunter can enjoy the day without overheating or fearing a wet boot stream crossing. For those that hunt the central mid-west with its overlapping upland bird populations no where else in the United States compares as favorably or enjoyed as much. HuntingTo compliment the aerials above are these ground level photos of dogs on quail point to show where the coveys and singles hold.
This attempt at identifying the better Kansas, Missouri and Iowa quail hunting habitat is the best we have been able to develop. the bottom line odes still remain that it takes boots on the ground to find the right habitat. We will get all hunters to the spot to park their truck. After that it is a matter of walking. More during the season dog on point pictures showing habitat. |
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