Once the most popular game bird in the southeastern United States, bobwhite quail suffered hard times in the past few decades.
Sportsmen can still find pockets of birds occupying parcels of good habitat across Mississippi.
“Quail in Mississippi have seen a very similar trend as most other southeastern states,” laments Rick Hamrick, a game biologist for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. “Although somewhat stable, wild quail populations are low. Quail are generally found in too few numbers to provide or otherwise sustain much hunting opportunity.”
With fewer people trapping furbearers, many people blame an increasing predator population for the diminishing bobwhite numbers. Raccoons, opossums, and even some other animals, such as housecats, armadillos, hawks, snakes, wild hogs, and fire ants eat quail or their eggs. Even whitetail deer occasionally eat quail eggs.
“Predators certainly have an impact on any prey species,” Hamrick confirms. “We probably have more predators in the state now than we did years ago. Land use changes that are less beneficial to quail are more favorable to many predators. Mississippi didn’t have many coyotes 50 years ago, but coyotes are not big quail predators. A coyote will grab a quail and eat it if it can catch it, but they are less a factor than other animals like foxes and nest predators, like raccoons and opossums. Hawks are major quail predators in the winter, especially smaller ones like Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks.”
Because so many things eat quail or their eggs, quail reproduce prolifically. With good habitat management, quail quickly rebuild their numbers. The state does habitat enhancement on some wildlife management areas. Such practices as prescribed fire and selective thinning of trees benefit quail and other species.
On some of our state lands, we’re not necessarily doing work specifically to improve quail habitat, but many species with similar habitat requirements will benefit from our practices.
“On some of our state lands, we’re not necessarily doing work specifically to improve quail habitat, but many species with similar habitat requirements will benefit from our practices,” Hamrick said. “For instance, on Charles Ray Nix WMA in Panola County, we focus on old fields and grassland habitat. We lean heavily on prescribed burning there to improve the habitat for grassland species.”
Marion County WMA near Columbia and the extensive pine savanna habitats on some national forests in southern Mississippi hold some wild quail. Anywhere, sportsmen might need to cover considerable ground to bag a bird limit.
“Marion County WMA has habitat management favorable to quail,” Hamrick said. “It’s predominately longleaf pine savanna habitat. Relatively frequently, we do prescribed burning on the property to manage that longleaf pine habitat.”
In the absence of wild birds, many sportsmen visit well-managed private hunting preserves. Private landowners who wish to create or enhance quail habitat on their properties could consult with state biologists through the Private Lands Program.
See mdwfp.com/privatelands for more information.
The 2024-25 Mississippi quail season runs from Nov. 28 through March 1, 2025, with a daily limit of eight per person. Season dates and regulations could vary on public properties and private preserves, so always check the regulations before hunting anywhere.
For public hunting properties, see
mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/wildlife-management-areas.
