CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — South Texas is a hot spot for wildlife, and one of the biggest species in the Coastal Bend is birds.
This season, the quail population in Texas is the highest its been in five years and the main reason they are thriving has to do with the environment.
"With the quail population, what we’re seeing a lot this year is from some of the peak times, some of the hatchlings of these quail, having a good amount of rainfall," Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Ben Baker said. "We went through quite a bit of drought this year but at some of those peak times when these Quail are having these clutches, we had some good rainfall."
Quail are considered an upland game bird, which means they live inland and not on the water. Upland game birds are a specific group of birds that hunters must follow certain regulations in order to hunt.
"We allow the individual land owner, as long as they abide by Parks and Wildlife seasons and means and methods, to kind of set their own, if they want to participate in the maximum daily bag limit, or if they want to have their own unique individual daily bag limit that could be lower," Baker said.
The daily bag limit for quail hunting in Texas is 15 quail per licensed hunter. There is also a possession limit of 45 quail per hunter.
Texas Parks and Wildlife recommends taking a few cautionary steps to help sustain the healthy quail population, including:
- having a valid Texas Parks and Wildlife hunting license
- abiding by the hunter education laws
- seeking out a biologist that can help you with quail in specific areas
"With any wildlife resource it’s food, water, space, and the arrangement of these that create a successful population," Baker said.
The Texas Quail population can continue to thrive if everyone obeys the rules and regulations.
Quail hunting season started Oct. 28 and takes place through Feb. 25.
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