Management of Montezuma Quail in Texas: Barriers to Establishing a Hunting Season

Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) occur throughout the desert southwest, ranging from Vera Cruz, Mexico to southern Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. In Mexico, Montezuma quail are a protected species and in New Mexico and Arizona they are a harvested gamebird. The distribution of Montezuma quail has changed significantly during the past century. Currently Montezuma quail are limited in Texas to the Trans-Pecos with remnant populations in the Edwards Plateau. Although Montezuma quail are classified as a gamebird in Texas, seasons are currently closed. Recently, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has expressed interest in opening the season on Montezuma Quail. In this manuscript I review and chronicle the sociological and biological barriers associated with opening a hunting season for Montezuma quail in Texas. Sociological barriers include landowner competency and trust in state agencies, a growing voice among nonconsumptive users in Texas, a localized ecotourism industry centered on Montezuma quail, and other cultural factors. Biological barriers include lack of data on Montezuma quail population distribution, trends, and abundance; lack of scientific data relative to habitat management for Montezuma quail; or studies simulating the effects of harvest on Montezuma quail. Prior to implementing a hunting season on Montezuma quail in Texas, resource agencies will need to address the biological and sociological challenges outlined in the manuscript

Reviews: Natural History of Javelinas; and Three DVDs on Bats

Reviews of Javelinas: Collared Peccaries of the Southwest (2006) by Jane Manaster, Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas, 85 pages (review by Louis A. Harveson) and of The Secret World of Bats (DVD), Building Homes for Bats (DVD), and Kids Discover Bats (DVD) (2005) published by Bat Conservation International (review by Jean Legge)

Efficacy of Line Drives to Locate Montezuma Quail at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area (Poster Abstract)

There is little information on the status of Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) in Texas. Most of the literature that does exist is either outdated or from out-of-state sources (i.e., New Mexico and Arizona). We initiated a pilot study to document and update general life history information of Montezuma quail at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Brewster County, Texas in March 2000. To establish the study area, we used sign of recent Montezuma quail use (i.e., diggings) to document areas of use, resulting in a 114-ha area on top of Elephant Mountain proper. This study plot subsequently was sampled by the 3 line drives consisting of 17, 12, or 10 observers/line. The observers walked abreast of each other towards a designated point, covering the entire width (600 m) of the sample area. Two line drives were conducted in December 2000 (17- and 12-observer lines) and 1 in March 2001 (10-observer line). All line drives were conducted in the morning between 0900–1200 hrs. Average distances between observers for the 17-, 12-, and 10- observer lines were 35, 50, and 60 m, respectively. The average speed for all 3 line drives was 2.5 km/hr. Only the 17-observer line drive detected quail. Two coveys were flushed, 1 of 4 birds (1 M and 3 F) and 1 of 5 birds (2 M and 3 F). The birds only flushed if the observer was \u3c 1 m from them. One possible reason for the low detection of quail may be their defense strategy, which is to crouch down and lay motionless. Based on these limited data, we infer that to increase the probability of effectively locating Montezuma quail, the distance between observers must be \u3c 35 m and the number of observers increased. Line drives with few observers and large spacing between observers may not be a suitable technique to locate Montezuma quail

Breeding Season Space Use and Habitat Selection of Adult Female Scaled and Gambel\u27s Quail in West Texas

We used radiotelemetry to investigate breeding-season (1 Apr–1 Sep, 2012 and 2013) home ranges and habitat selection of adult female scaled (Callipepla squamata) and Gambel’s quail (C. gambelii) in the eastern Chihuahuan Desert, Texas. Mean breeding-season home range (95% fixed kernel) for scaled quail was 145.02 ± 23.56 ha (range = 22.03–538.24 ha) and 156.32 ± 13.04 ha (range = 66.15– 270.74 ha) for Gambel’s quail. Mean core-use area (50% fixed kernel) for scaled quail was 31.38 ± 4.80 ha (range = 4.03–111.36 ha) and 32.87 ± 2.61 ha (range = 12.19–52.36 ha) for Gambel’s quail. We found evidence of home-range overlap in neighboring females in both species. Excessive drought can suppress nesting activity. However, encourage reproductive activity in both species may be encouraged by managing riparian areas to provide adequate forage and microclimatic conditions

Spatial Ecology and Habitat Selection of Montezuma Quail in Texas

Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) occur throughout desert mountain ranges in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Considered a popular game bird in Arizona and New Mexico, they are not hunted in Texas. A hunting season was proposed for the species in 1997 but met with strong objections, most citing the dearth of information about the species. Much of the literature on Montezuma quail ecology is anecdotal or outdated. Previous researchers had problems capturing birds for marking and, once captured, keeping radio-marked birds alive. We used trained pointing dogs and conducted a radiotelemetry study on Montezuma quail in the Davis Mountains of Texas from January 2009 through September 2010. We captured 72 birds and recorded 966 locations. Home ranges were calculated for 13 individuals which had at least 25 locations. A 95% fixed kernel was calculated on each individual giving a mean 6 SD home range of 2,149.4 6 4,736.8 ha. Movements varied widely by individuals and the greatest straight-line movement was 12.7 km. We also performed habitat selection analysis. Mountain savannah ecological sites were preferred across all 3 spatial scales. Our results confirm that home range size and movements by Montezuma quail occur at a much larger scale than previously reported. Thus, managing lands on a larger scale and targeting mountain savannah ecological sites should be considered

Bird Use of Bobwhite Brush Shelters on a Conservation Reserve Program Field

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) are known to use constructed brush shelters. The establishment of artificial shelters is a common practice in grasslands where woody cover is lacking. We evaluated the use of brush shelters by bobwhite and other bird species in a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) field. Twenty-seven species of birds were observed at brush shelters versus 10 species at control sites. No species occurred exclusively at control sites. Brush shelters in CRP had positive effects on avian communities by providing sites for vocalizing, prey search, loafing, and nesting

Survival and Nesting Ecology of Scaled Quail in the Trans-Pecos, Texas

Scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) are one of the most ecologically and economically important wildlife species in the Trans-Pecos, because they are the primary upland game bird in the Chihuahuan Desert. Using radiotelemetry, we evaluated survival (Kaplan–Meier) and nesting success of quail on 3 study sites in the Trans-Pecos, Texas: one (Santiago Mountain Ranch, central Brewster Co.) was supplemented with milo (Sorghum bicolor) year-round, the second (Lado Ranch, south Culberson Co.) never used supplements, and the third (Apache Ranch, central Culberson Co.) was supplemented with quail blocks. We trapped and radiocollared 164 female quail collectively across all study sites, and followed them for 2 years (May–Sep 2012–2013). There were no survival differences between years within study sites (P = 0.985), so we grouped data across years and compared survival between study sites. Apache Ranch had the lowest survival (55%) compared with the Santiago Mountain Ranch (76.3%) and Lado Ranch (75%). We found 47 nests across the reproductive seasons for 2012 and 2013. On average, scaled quail had high nesting success (72.6%), eggs per nest (11.6), and hatchability (91.25%). Nesting occurred from May to September with peak nesting in June and July. Timing and quantity of rain, combined with range conditions seemed to have the greatest effect on nesting performance

Fate and Survival of Radio-marked Montezuma Quail

Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) represent one of the least studied North American quail species, particularly in Texas. This lack of information may be partly due to their secretive nature and difficulty of capturing. We provide the first published report of fate of radio-marked Montezuma quail in Texas. We captured, radio-marked, and released 14 Montezuma quail on Elephant Mountain (n = 9) and Davis Mountain Preserve (n = 5) during 2000-2005. We used 2 methods of attachment for pendant style neck-loop radio transmitters. Body-loop transmitters were affixed to quail captured at the Davis Mountain Preserve whereas both body-loop and neck-loop were used at Elephant Mountain. All radio-marked Montezuma quail died within a relatively short period (1-16 days). Causes of mortality for most Montezuma quail were attributed to raptors (n = 9), mammals (n = 1), and miscellaneous (n = 4). Because this low survival rate would not sustain a natural population, we suspect trapping, handling, and/or radio-marking negatively affected survival. It is possible that transmitters potentially restricted escape movements or interfered with other behavior thereby making Montezuma quail more vulnerable to predation. Traditional techniques used to affix radio transmitters or transmitter design itself need to be refined if Montezuma quail are to be studied using radio telemetry

Delineation of Gambel\u27s Quail Habitat in the Trans-Pecos, Texas

Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii) are a common quail species in southwestern states of the United States and the northwestern states of Mexico. In Texas this species occurs in the Trans-Pecos region, are underutilized, and could become an important game bird and source of income for ranchers in the Chihuahuan Desert region of Texas. Salt cedar (Tamarisk spp.), introduced from Asia for ornamental and erosion purposes, is invasive in the western part of the Rio Grande corridor that generally creates monocultures that choke out the native vegetation of the region. Knowing this, the objectives of this study were to: (1) delineate salt cedar and native riparian habitats along the Rio Grande corridor in the Trans-Pecos; (2) evaluate those habitats based on the known distribution of Gambel’s quail in the Trans-Pecos; and (3) estimate the amount of suitable habitat for Gambel’s quail in Trans-Pecos, Texas. Although dominant along the Rio Grande, native riparian vegetation was more prevalent than salt cedar communities when combining primary creeks in all counties. Brewster County was the area with a higher percentage of salt cedar occurrence (21.2%) vs. native riparian vegetation (78.8%). The largest extension of salt cedar occurred in Presidio County with an extension of 6,656.3 ha but this only represented 12.7% of our analyzed area. Hudspeth County had an occurrence of salt cedar of 2,905.2 ha representing 6.8% of the estimated riparian area of the Rio Grande corridor in this county. El Paso County’s total urban area-agricultural fields area is a total of 90,682.9184 ha

Suitable habitats for cougars (Puma concolor) in Texas and Northern Mexico

We predicted current and potential distribution of cougars (Puma concolor) in Texas and bordering states in Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Le´on, and Tamaulipas) by creating a model of suitable habitats. We used MaxEnt to create our model using radiotelemetric data from southern and western Texas, as well as a suite of environmental variables. Our values for area under the receiver-operator curve (>0.85 for both training and test data) suggested that our model was a good predictor of habitat and distribution. Our map can aid in identifying areas where further research is needed to detect presence, status of populations, connectivity of corridors, and other demographic characteristics that are necessary for conservation and management of cougars