Quail Preserve season opens - NBCI update

Upland hunter admires his bag from Jones Hunt Preserve

Feb. 1937 Lynn Bogue Hunt artwork

One of the longest hunting seasons in South Carolina opens October 1 and continues until the end of March. Upland bird hunting for quail at shooting preserves runs for five months during the fall and winter, enabling wingshooters to pick a time that suits then to schedule a hunt. Quail hunting is really all about the bird dogs, and this style of upland hunt allows sportsmen to feel a stronger connection with their canine partners that must locate the birds using scent. The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative is trying to unite the voices across the entire country that call for the restoration of the habitat that hopefully will enable the bobwhate quail to recover at a landscape level. Individual states like Virginia and Kentucky are taking the lead, and there is no reason why South Carolina cannot also become a leader in wild quail restoration. Consider that the Palmetto state is largely rural and in the hands of private landowners. It is a matter of educating landowners and members of the public that the benefits of habitat management for wildlife far outweighs the doing nothing, especially when you consider the greater dividends of water quality, habitat for grassland songbirds and the pollinators that keep mother nature buzzing along. Besides, while it may have been a good while since some have seen a quail, the cultural identity of bird dogs and what they stand for is still easily understood.

This is a national effort to restore wild quail

More bobwhites are needed for dog trials

To read more about the NBCI's unified strategy to restore wild quail visit the Internet at wwwBringBackBobwhites.org.

To view past blog entries about Tall Timbers quail habitat work in S.C. click here.

To read my feature article about Quail preserve season and the NBCI click Colletonian.