Record your quail hunting adventures to benefit the birds

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is looking for some input from Arkansas quail hunters about their experiences in The Natural State throughout the season. Much like hunter surveys conducted by die-hard turkey hunters and archery deer hunters, the AGFC Quail Log Book offers a way for bird dog enthusiasts to contribute to conservation through boots-on-the-ground data collection.

Hunters have always been the largest contributors to conservation, not only through license sales and taxes on sporting goods, but also through their cooperation with surveys about hunting results and observations to help wildlife biologists monitor populations and identify trends and responses to management strategies and habitat improvements.

Clint Johnson, AGFC Quail Program Coordinator, said, “As we continue habitat restoration throughout the state for northern bobwhite, the data collected in this survey will help guide future management decisions and focus on the efforts that are showing success.”

Hunters can visit https://www.agfc.com/hunting/more-game/quail and enter their data electronically as they complete each hunt. They can also email Clint.Johnson@agfc.ar.gov to receive a downloadable log book or a printed version via mail.

“Any hunts for wild birds conducted on public or private land can be recorded,” Johnson said. “Field trials and pen-raised birds shouldn’t be included.”

The quail program will send a custom decal to all hunters who submit hunting journal entries as a thank-you for their commitment to conservation.

Johnson said last year’s effort and participation was very encouraging, especially from those hunters who filled out the survey online. “We still don’t have a large enough dataset to pull anything specific at the WMA level, but statewide we did see some good data to help us with some initial observations.”

Johnson says that although Arkansas may never hold the quail-hunting destination title that it enjoys for waterfowl, upland birds can be an overlooked opportunity for hunters.

“There’s obviously a difference between us and somewhere like Texas or Kansas, but hunts here can be as good as anywhere else,” Johnson said. “There are many Arkansas hunters who go out of state with their bird dogs, but there’s no reason not to give those dogs a workout here before heading to other destinations. If your goal is to fill a tailgate for a photo, then you’re probably going to be disappointed wherever you go, Arkansas or otherwise, but if you’re wanting to have a great time with your dog and enjoy the adrenaline rush of a covey flushing at your feet, Arkansas has some public land opportunity that’s really underutilized.”

Visit https://www.agfc.com/hunting/more-game/quail for more information about northern bobwhites, including the latest Annual Quail Program Report, which includes population estimates for many WMAs.

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CUTLINES:

HUNTER IN FIELD
Arkansas quail hunters can help track the success of habitat improvements by participating in the Arkansas Quail Hunter Log on agfc.com.

DOG WITH QUAIL
Aaron McDonnel of Fayetteville submitted this image of his bird dog, Birch, with one of the results of a hard day’s work. Photo by Aaron McDonnel.