Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch (RPQRR) Pointing Dog Survey

Transcription

1 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc (RPQRR) Pointing Dog Survey October 22-23, 2007 Dale Rollins Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Eric J. Redeker Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Researc Institute

2 Table of Contents Topic Page Project Objectives...2 Equipment Used...2 Metods and Materials...3 Results...3 Results Table...4 Recommendations for Improving Next Effort...5 Acknowledgments...5 Overview Map of RPQRR...7 Map of All Dog and Hunter Tracklogs Collected wit Astro Collars... Map of Annie Nort and Annie SW...9 Map of Annie Nort...10 Map of Babe and Drew Trap...11 Map of Babe...12 Map of Cittam...13 Map of Deuce East and West...14 Map of Doc Sout and Deuce West...15 Map of Doc Nort and Sout...16 Map of Drew Trap and Tex West...17 Map of Ellie NE...1 Map of Ellie SE...19 Map of Ellie SW...20 Map of James Sout and Ellie SW...21 Map of Meg East and West...22 Map of Sout CRP and Lucy...23 Map of Suzie...24 Map of Tex and Oscar...25 Potos...26 Contributor Logos

3 Project Objectives 1. To evaluate te use of GPS-equipped dogs as a tecnique for estimating quail density; tese estimates will be compared to ongoing elicopter counts, walk transects, and wistle counts. We ope to repeat tis in Marc and October of eac year. Begin assembling information on point-to-flus distance as an important metric in using line transect metodology for estimating quail density wit bird dogs. Provide a minimum estimate of quail densities at RPQRR. 2. To maintain a bond between quail researc and quail unters at te RPQRR. Equipment Used Garmin International, Inc. graciously donated te use of 20 Garmin Astro dog tracking systems, wic were used to track pointing dogs, map covey locations, record te number of birds in eac covey and record point-flus distances. More information on te Garmin Astro dog tracking system can be found online by going to tis link ttp:// 2

4 Metods and Materials Twenty-four volunteers assembled wit teir complement of ATVs, orses, and bird dogs to participate in tis first coordinated effort to map quail populations at te RPQRR. Eac team of andlers was provided a Garmin Astro GPS dog collar, and after an initial orientation session in its use, were assigned pastures ranging from 200 to 400 acres in size. Most andlers were asked to traverse teir assigned unit in East-to-West transects spaced about 200 yards apart. For smaller, irregularly-saped pastures, andlers were allowed to just unt it as tey normally would. Handlers were asked to unt only one dog at a time. Eac unt was about 2.5 ours in duration. Participants were asked to record a waypoint for eac covey flused, and a point-toflus distance (PFD) defined as te distance from te dog s initial point to te center of were te covey was flused. Participants estimated PFD by pacing. Results A total of 13 unting teams participated on Day 1; 7 teams unted from ATVs, 2 from orseback, and 4 walked. Te number of teams for te morning unt (23 Oct) dropped to 10; 6 teams unted from ATVs, 2 from orseback, and 2 walked. Nineteen of te 25 sampling units were censused on Day 1 and 16 on Day 2. Across bot days, a total of 44 coveys were recorded and a total of 41 quail were counted (Table 1). Covey size averaged 10.9 birds. Two coveys of blue quail were observed. 232 miles were surveyed by bot unters and dogs (107 and 125 respectively) based on te tracklogs recorded by Garmin Astros. Point to flus distances (PFD) were recorded inconsistently by participants; average PFD for 16 covey fluses was 7.9 yards. Weater conditions were not conducive to good scenting; norterly winds at 15 to 25 mp on te afternoon of 22 Oct and accompanying low relative umidity (estimated to be <15%) afforded poor conditions for scenting dogs. Te next morning (23 Oct) ad less wind, cool temperatures (about 45 F) at 9 a.m. starting time, wit winds increasing to 15 mp as te morning progressed. Soil conditions were dry and dusty. Cover conditions in October were as lus as anyone can remember in tis portion of west Texas because of abundant precipitation troug te growing season. Tere ad been no killing frost to date. Broomweed and ragweeds (western and field) were abundant and may ave affected scenting abilities of dogs. Prickly pear and sandburs were abundant over muc of te ranc and stifled dogs in some instances. 3

5 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Bird Dog Census Experiment - October, 2007 Day 1 (pm) Day 2 (am) Pasture Team members Mode of travel Coveys observed Total quail PFD Team members Mode of travel Coveys observed TOTALS Total quail PFD Annie N RH/NG Walk 0 0 Annie SE DR/ER ATV 0 0 AH/CR ATV 0 0 Annie SW DR/ER ATV Babe AH/CR/BA ATV 0 0 Cittam SP/RM Walk 0 0 Deuce E JH/AVJ ATV 5 34 JH/BB ATV 0 0 Deuce W SK/BB ATV DM/FB ATV 0 0 Doc N SP/RM Walk EB/DC ATV ,0,5 Doc S BB/SK ATV 0 0 DM/FB ATV 0 0 Drew Trap BB/SK ATV 2 13 CM Horse 0 0 Ellie NE CM Horse 5 21 CM Horse 5 6 Ellie NW Ellie SE RH/NG Walk 5 52 Ellie SW JH/BB ATV 0 0 PM/JS Horse James N DR/ER ATV 0 0 James S DR/ER ATV 0 0 Lucy SS/JS Walk Meg E Meg W DM/FB ATV 1 (blues) Oscar DC/EB ATV 0 0 SP/RM Walk S. CRP SS/JS ATV 0 0 Suzie PM/JS Walk ,13,4,9 20,2 BA Walk 2 22 Tex E-N DC/EB ATV 2 40 SP/RM Walk 0 0 Tex E-S DC/EB ATV 1 30 SP/RM Walk Tex W SK/BB ATV

6 Recommendations for improving next effort Tis was te first in wat we ope to make a semiannual event (proposed dates of Marc and October). Accordingly, we discovered several items tat could be enanced to improve te efficiency of future efforts. 1) Need about 20 unt teams to best census RPQRR. 2) Need better ceck-in and ceck-out process to ensure return of all results and equipment. 3) Have unting units assigned for 2 nd day on first evening in order to expedite start times. 4) Have grad student knowledgeable in Astro collars assigned to eac unt team. 5) Have personnel assemble earlier on Day 1 to permit longer orientation session. 6) Improve maps and data cards for use afield during unts. 7) Download te data from te Astro collars after eac survey, to enable researcers to accurately analyze te differences between survey metods (walking, ATV and orseback) wit regard to speed, area covered and rate of encounter (i.e. coveys per our). Daily downloads will also enable researcers to analyze eac day s effort separately and identify differences between te performance of different dogs wit regard to breed and age. Acknowledgments T. Gartner wit Garmin donated use of te Astro GPS collars and Rino 2-way radios. M. Scnupp, J. Sands, and N. Gruber, CKWRI, and R. Linex, NRCS, provided valuable logistical support. M. Cortez wit Hunting & Fising Texas outdoors television program videotaped Monday s outing for use in a future episode. Special tanks to J. V. Martin and te cooking team of First National Bank Sweetwater for a delicious fajita dinner on Monday evening and to S. Estes, Fiser County Extension Agent, for a amburger lunc on Tuesday. We tank te following individuals (and teir canine companions) wo participated as te unt teams: B. D. Atkinson, Sweetwater B. Baldridge, Clairmont B. Barnard, Wicita Falls J. Barnard, Wicita Falls F. Bell, Roby E. Birdwell, Henrietta D. Clark, Henrietta J. Hamilton, Round Rock A. Heirman, Albany Rod Henc, Hermleig 4

7 J. Herrera, Abilene A. V. Jones, Albany D. A. Kimbell, Wicita Falls S. Kimbell, Wicita Falls C. Martin, Anson C. R. McCallum, Cross Plains P. Melton, Sylvester R. Moss, Iowa Park S. Price, Iowa Park C. Ribelin, Dallas E. Sceid, McCaulley S. Serrod, San Angelo J. Sorelle, San Angelo J. Soutern, Sylvester 5

8 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Headquarters Nort 10 Trap Nortwest Trap Suzie Doc Nort Cittam Annie Nort Doc Sout Annie SE Annie SW Deuce West Deuce East Oscar Babe Drew Trap Pavilion Tex NE Meg West Meg East Tex West Tex SE TT Ellie NE James Nort Sout CRP Ellie NW Ellie SE James Sout Lucy Ellie SW

9 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc COVEYS

10 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Annie Nort Doc Sout Annie SW Deuce East COVEYS Oscar Annie Nort and Annie SW

11 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Suzie Doc Nort Annie Nort Doc Sout Annie SE Annie SW COVEYS Deuce East Oscar Annie Nort

12 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Annie SW Deuce East Deuce West Oscar Drew Trap Babe Tex West Meg East COVEYS Meg West Ellie NW Babe and Drew Trap Ellie NE James Nort

13 Oscar Drew Trap Tex West Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Annie SW Deuce East Deuce West Babe Meg East Meg West COVEYS Ellie NW Babe Ellie NE James Nort

14 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Nortwest Trap Headquarters Nort 10 Trap Doc Nort Cittam Doc Sout COVEYS Cittam

15 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Annie Nort Doc Sout Annie SW Deuce East Deuce West Oscar COVEYS Meg West Meg East Babe Deuce East & West Drew Trap

16 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Suzie Doc Nort Cittam Annie Nort Doc Sout #BIRDS 1 0 yds. #BIRDS yds. #BIRDS 3 0 yds. Annie SW Deuce East Deuce West COVEYS Meg West Meg East Doc Sout & Deuce West Babe

17 Nortwest Trap Annie Nort Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Headquarters Nort 10 Trap #BIRDS 7 4 yds. #BIRDS 12 0 yds. Suzie Doc Nort #BIRDS 13 5 yds. #BIRDS 12 0 yds. Cittam Doc Sout COVEYS Doc Nort & Sout Deuce East

18 Tex NE Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Annie SW Deuce East Oscar Drew Trap Pavilion Babe Tex West Tex SE COVEYS Meg East Ellie NE Drew Trap & Tex West James Nort

19 James Sout Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Tex West Meg East Meg West #BIRDS 1 10 yds. #BIRDS 1 5 yds. James Nort Ellie NE Ellie NW COVEYS Ellie SW Ellie SE Ellie NE

20 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc James Nort Ellie NE Ellie NW James Sout #BIRDS 12 4 yds. Ellie SW #BIRDS 5 3 yds. #BIRDS 10 3 yds. #BIRDS 12 6 yds. Ellie SE #BIRDS 13 4 yds. COVEYS Ellie SE

21 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Ellie NE Ellie NW Ellie SE Ellie SW COVEYS Ellie SW

22 Lucy Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc TT Sout CRP James Nort Ellie NE #BIRDS yds. James Sout Ellie SE COVEYS James Sout & Ellie SW

23 Drew Trap Tex West Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Annie SW Deuce West Deuce East Oscar Babe Meg East Meg West James Nort Ellie NE COVEYS Ellie NW Ellie SW Meg East & West Ellie SE

24 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc TT Sout CRP James Nort James Sout Lucy #BIRDS yds. COVEYS Sout CRP & Lucy

25 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc #BIRDS 16 4 yds. #BIRDS 10 yds. #BIRDS 15 0 yds. Suzie #BIRDS 11 7 yds. #BIRDS 1 2 yds. #BIRDS 5 yds. #BIRDS 7 13 yds. #BIRDS 1 0 yds. Doc Nort #BIRDS 9 3 yds. #BIRDS 15 9 yds. #BIRDS 1 1 yds. #BIRDS yds. #BIRDS 15 2 yds. Annie Nort Doc Sout COVEYS Annie SW Annie SE Suzie

26 Rolling Plains Quail Researc Ranc Annie SE Annie SW Oscar Deuce East Drew Trap Pavilion #BIRDS30 0 yds. #BIRDS10 0 yds. Tex NE #BIRDS30 0 yds. Babe #BIRDS5 1 yds. Tex SE Tex West COVEYS Meg East Ellie NE James Nort TT Sout CRP Tex & Oscar

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31 Contributors RollingPlainsQuailResearc Foundation 29