Dr. Dale on Quail

Join Dr. Dale and his guest Dr. Michael Conover from Utah State University this month as they unravel perhaps the most romantic, and mysterious, aspect of hunting with pointing dogs, i.e., their ability to find, and point, game birds via olfaction. Dr. Conover recently published “Predator-Prey Dynamics: the Role of Olfaction” which is a thorough treatise of the origins of scent, and how wind currents, turbulence, and structures on the landscape interact to affect scenting conditions. You won’t want to miss this one!

"Patternology" is defined as "the scientific study of patterns." Join Dr. Dale and his guest Dr. Dan Foley as they discuss and dissect various patterns as they relate to quail management and quail hunting. Digest these ideas and weigh them against your own experiences afield.

Ever submitted a blood or urine sample to your doctor to assess your well-being? Join Dr. Dale and his guest Dr. Brad Kubecka as they discuss certain reproductive parameters that play important roles in annual production. Using a 15-year data set from RPQRR, they will evaluate RPQRR’s “performance.” They’ll also discuss some “sensitivity analyses” that tease out which variables are most important if bobwhite populations are to increase.

It’s been a long and winding road, but the first medicated feed for wild birds in the U.S. is now available. Join Dr. Dale and his special guests Dr. Ron Kendall, RPQRF’s past-resident Joe Crafton, and Dr. Ryan O'Shaughnessy as they share the research and development that resulted in the FDA’s labeling of QuailGuard™ for treating eyeworms and cecal worms in wild quail. QuailGuard is currently being stocked at feed stores across much of Texas. You won’t want to miss this one!

Join Dr. Dale and his guest Reggie Thackston from

Thackston Wildlife Consulting LLC from the great state of Georgia. Thackston has been an inveterate “Student of Quail” for the past 40 years and has served state game agencies in Georgia, South Carolina, and Oklahoma, in addition to serving on the Board of Trustees for Tall Timbers Research Station in Florida. He is also a long-in-the-tooth quail hunter—his passion for the art and science of quail management is palpable. This episode airs July 20.

Odds are you’ve sat through a meeting on various Farm Bill programs that began to sound like “acronym soup”—EQIP, CRP, GRIP, WHIP, LIP, and the list goes on. Undoubtedly dollars for conservation abound within the Farm Bill (and other incentive programs), but are you getting your fair share therefrom? Join Dr. Dale and RPQRR’s new ranch manager Mitchell Riggs as Riggs describes strategies for making the Farm Bill “all it can be” for Texans interested in quail management.

Join Dr. Dale this month and three special guests as they discuss how quail habitat (and abundance) are impacted by wildfires like those that raged in the Panhandle in late-February. His special guests include Becky Ruzicka (formerly with RPQRF), Chip Ruthven (TPW Project Leader for several WMAs in the Panhandle), and Jeff Bonner (retired TPW biologist stationed in Pampa). They discuss historical contexts and relevant management practices for lessening the impacts of wildfires. Join us on May 20 for this episode.

We often speak of “Leopold’s toolbox” and speak often of “axe, plow, cow, and fire,” and how these tools are the basis of our attempts at habitat management. But we should be reminded that these tools are not “one size fits all” and as managers we seek to use them as adjustable (ala “Crescent” wrenches) given various environmental constraints (e.g., rainfall). Join Dr. Dale and his guest Jesse Wood as they discuss the management of scaled (“blue”) quail in the Permian Basin region of west Texas and how we adjust Leopold’s tools for a desert habitat. Wood is the Director of Ecology and Sustainable Development for the Permian Basin and works for ConocoPhillips. He’s also a graduate of QuailMasters (class of 2017) and an avid quail hunter.

This month’s guests are brothers Ty and Marc Bartoskewitz. Both are well-grounded in quail management in TX and currently manage ranches in Stephens and Shackelford counties, respectively. Given their interest, acumen, and

budgets, I often refer to them as the “Great (Bob)White Hopes” for the eastern Rolling Plains. Join us on March 20 on how they approach various habitat concerns, and what they see as catalysts for the return of the bobwhite to their former haunts.

This month’s guest is Dr. Abe Woodard with the East Foundation. Our topic is a “Quail 303” discussion of “sustained yield” of bobwhites in South Texas. We’ll discuss topics along the “hunter X covey interface” including hunting efficiency and crippling loss. Join us on February 20.