Scaled Quail Habitats Revisited - Oklahoma Panhandle

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1 National Qail Symposim Proceedings Volme 3 Article Scaled Qail Habitats Revisited - Oklahoma Panhandle Sanford D. Schemnitz New Mexico State University Follow this and additional works at: Recommended Citation Schemnitz, Sanford D. (1993) "Scaled Qail Habitats Revisited - Oklahoma Panhandle," National Qail Symposim Proceedings: Vol. 3, Article 20. Available at: This Habitat Ecology is broght to yo for free and open access by Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclsion in National Qail Symposim Proceedings by an athorized editor of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@tk.ed.

2 Schemnitz: Scaled Qail Habitats Revisited - Oklahoma Panhandle SCALED QUAIL HABITATS REVISITED-OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE SANFORD D. SCHEMNITZ, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences, New Mexico State University PO Box 4901, Las Crces, NM Abstract: Scaled qail (Callipepla sqamata) poplations declined 50% from to in a 125 km 2 stdy area. Food habits based on a sample of 150 qail crops remained nchanged. Abandonment of farms, land se, and climatic changes were hypothesized to be major factors responsible for the poplation decline. Key words: Callipepla sqamata, food habits, habitat, poplation, scaled qail. Citation: Schemnitz, S. D Scaled qail habitats revisited-oklahoma panhandle. Pages in K. E. Chrch and T. V. Dailey, eds. Qail III: national qail symposim. Kansas Dep. Wildl. and Parks, Pratt. The idea for this paper was triggered by a similar effort by Leedy (1987), who retrned after 45 years to his Ohio hants and docmented total disappearance of ring-necked pheasants (Phasians colchics) and most pheasant habitat. Leedy attribted the loss of pheasants primarily to deterioration in habitat becase of changing agricltral land-se practices. I retrned to Cimarron Conty, Oklahoma, after an absence of 34 years to evalate possible changes in scaled qail poplations and distribtion since previosly reported by Schemnitz (1961). STUDY AREA Cimarron Conty, the most westerly conty in the Oklahoma Panhandle, is primarily grassland and agricltral farmland. The intensive main stdy area was in the sandsage (Artemisw /ili/olw)-grassland commnity. The area featres rolling dne-like topography with calcareos, deep sandy, well-drained soils. Other common shrbs are soapweed (Ycca gla.ca), sknkbsh (Rhs trilobata), and sand plm (Prns watsonii). Sand blestem (Andropogon hallii), big sandgrass (Calamovilfa gigantra), switchgrass (Panicm virgatm), and needle and thread grass (Stipa comata) are the principal tall grasses. Mid grasses inclde sand dropseed (Sporobols cryptandrs) and field sandbr (Cenchrs paciflors). False bffalo grass (Mnroa sqarrosa), sand paspalm (Paspalm straminem), and ble grama (Boteloa gracilis) compose the main short grasses. Common forbs inclde western ragweed (Ambrosw psilostachya), Texas croton (Croton texensis), sand lily (Mentzelia strict.a), bffalo-br (Solanm rostratm), and Rssian thistle (Salsola kali). The climate is semiarid, characterized by hot smmers and relatively mild winters. Average annal precipitation is 42.7 cm. The altitde is 1,281 m. METHODS Field reconnaissance of previosly verified ( ) occpied home ranges was ndertaken dring late December of 1990 and 1991 on a 125-km 2 sandsage-grassland stdy area. Observations of scaled qail and their tracks in the sand and snow were sed to determine presence of qail. Covey size was determined from direct observation. A thorogh reconnaissance of the stdy area was made on foot with the assistance of a trained bird dog. Scaled qail crops were collected from hnters to determine food habits dring the early winter of and Every effort was made to contact active hnters via the local Boise City (a small town with a poplation of 1,509) "grapevine" and the game warden to maximize the qail crop collection total. De to the small sample size, these data were pooled by vegetation type and year. I sed the aggregate volme techniqe to measre foods as described by Martin et al. (1946). Statistical significance was accepted at P <0.05. RESULTS Poplation Changes A poplation decline from 587 (SE = 26) qail (mean for ) to 293 (SE = 21) in was noted, which represents a decrease of 50% (Fig. 1). Six of 17 previosly occpied home ranges Pblished by Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange,

3 National Qail Symposim Proceedings, Vol. 3 [1993], Art Qail III ~5 SW CORNER SECTION 28 T3N, R3E 1 35 oa e _.. BOISE CITY, OKLAHOMA, 10 Ml. COVEY SIZE COVEY SIZE OBSERVED U COVEY SIZE UNKNOWN 0 NO QUAI. PRESENT Fig. 1. Comparison of scaled qail winter coveys on a 125-km 2 sandsage grassland stdy area (Schemnitz 1961) and (35%) were vacant in Average covey size declined from 65 in to 49 in A thorogh search of the 125-km 2 area in did not reveal additional qail. This sggested that qail had not shifted their home ranges. An additional 6 winter home ranges occpied in in the short-grass-high plains and pinyon-jniper habitat types not on the intensive stdy area were revisited. For of the 6 were still occpied in , bt average covey size had 2

4 Schemnitz: Scaled Qail Habitats Revisited - Oklahoma Panhandle Scaled Qail Habitats-Schemnitz 145 declined from 45 to 13 (t = 1.75, P= 0.18, df= 3). One of the abandoned home ranges arond some occpied bildings had several hose cats (Felis domestics) present. The other range, formerly in farmland, was now a hosing development on the edge of Boise City. Foods I fond little change in the main foods of scaled qail between the 2 stdy periods (Table 1). Twelve of the top 20 foods in the sample also were in the top 20 of the sample (Schemnitz 1961). The top 5 foods in comprised 56.5% of the diet by volme while these same 5 foods totaled 46.4% in the sample. Insect volmes of 4.8 ( ) and 4.2% ( ) remained similar (P> 0.05). Forb seeds totaled 62.4 ( ) and 57.6% ( ) of the diet and showed little difference between sample periods. Grain (sorghm,com, wheat)whichmadep 24.7% of the sample and 33.go/oofthe diet did not differ (P > 0.05). Only 3 of 50 foods, (0.6%) in were not fond in the crop samples, and they were all in trace amonts. The major difference was the low se of Rssian thistle 1.6% volme in verss 15.1% in '. The average nmber of food items per crop in of 7.1 was nearly identical to the 7.0 for (P> 0.05). DISCUSSION Habitat Changes A notable difference in habitat conditions in recent years is the retirement of cltivated land ~nd~r the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) m Crmarron Conty. Farmlands in the CRP totaled 59,896 ha dring 1990 (Soil Conservation Service, pers. commn.); this represents more than doble those in 1987 (28,653 ha in the CRP). In contrast, only 7 farms had 621 ha in nharvested cover crops in Active farmland acreage declined 33.8% between the past, , and present, , periods of this stdy. Most CRP fields were revegetated with dense weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis crvla) with some old world (Bothriochloa sp.) and little blestem (Schizachyrim scoparis), Indian (Sorghastrm ntans), and switchgrass. These grasses provide some qail cover, bt little food. Scaled qail nest in a large variety of habitats (17 total, Schemnitz 1961). In , only 1 nest of 50 was fond in a dense grass habitat similar to the CRP. In contrast to pheasants, scaled qail may derive few benefits from CRP retired fields. Table 1. Smma~ of 20 main foods eaten by scaled qail based on the analysis of 150 crops collected December 1990 and 1991, Cimarron Conty, OK. % Volme % Food Freq. freq. (cc) volme Triticm aestivm Helianths sp Amaranths sp Mentzelia stricta Sorghm vlgare (milo) Insects Ambrosia psilostachya Croton sp Zea mays Heterotheca sbaxillaris Salsola kali Polanisia trachysperma Sorghm halepense Green herbaceos vegetation Grindelia sqarrosa Paspalm straminem Solanm rostratm Kochia scoparia Psoralea teniflora Cenchrs sp Total Pblished by Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange,

5 National Qail Symposim Proceedings, Vol. 3 [1993], Art Qail III Comparative acreage of total cropland (inclding CRP) and rangeland in Cimarron Conty have not changed (Table 2). Also, average farm size has increased only slightly. Cropland patterns have varied, with less acreage in sorghm while wheat acreage has remained the same (USDC 1954, 1987). Nmber of farms decreased from 616 in 1950, to 559 in 1954, and to 448 in Many active farmsteads occpied in the 1950's have been abandoned, ths livestock and grain feeding no longer occr. Sasser (1991) docmented the decline of bobwhite with the disappearance of small farms in east Texas. Food Habits Scaled qail consme a more diverse diet than northern bobwhite (Colins virginians) (Campbell-Kissock et al. 1985, Rollins 1981, Schemnitz 1964). Scaled qail in the winter in western Oklahoma contine to se agricltral grains and forbs that thrive nder livestock grazing conditions. They showed high energy tilization and weight maintenance when fed sorghm, snflower, and amaranth seeds (Sanders and Parrish 1987). All of these are important qail foods. Hnting Pressre Hnting mortality does not seem to be a major factor in the scaled qail poplation decline in this area. Empirical data on nmbers of active local qail hnters sggest a decline in qail hnting. Availability of crops from hnters is a rogh index of hnting pressre and sccess. Dring the 1954 and 1955 hnting seasons 9 hnters contribted 50 or more scaled qail crops (minimm 450). Dring the recent stdy 150 crops were contribted by 4 hnters. Hnting interest and pressre seem to have switched from scaled qail to pheasants. While qail poplations have declined, pheasant nmbers have increased as exemplified by season lengths. Dring 1954 and 1955 pheasant hnting seasons were 2 days in length, while the 1956 hnting season lasted 3 days. In contrast the pheasant hnting season length was 32 days in Cimarron Conty in Climate Change Climatic factors inflence qail poplations by affecting vegetative vigor, composition, growth, and reprodctive sccess (Campbell et al. 1973). Table 2. Changes m land-se practices, Cimarron Conty, OK. Time period Land se Farmland (ha) 179, ,534a No. of farms Average farm size (ha) Cows and calves 39,323 90,756 Acres planted sorghm 48,554 32,217 (39l)b (247) Acres planted wheat 37,270 39,909 (339) (300) alncldes Conservation Reserve Program acreage. bnmber of farms (USDC 1954, 1987). Dring the period of my original stdy, a severe droght existed (-42.5% deviation from mean annal precipitation). Despite seemingly adverse climatic conditions, scaled qail poplations thrived (Schemnitz 1961). In contrast, climatic data for at Boise City, Oklahoma, showed a mesic trend with precipitation 19% above normal (X = 50.8 cm ). In only 1 year, 1983, was precipitation slightly below the norm of cm. Scaled qail are a xeric-adapted species. They thrive in the vicinity of Las Crces, New Mexico, with an average annal precipitation of 21.6 cm (N.M. Dep. Game and Fish 1967). Perhaps in western Oklahoma they do not thrive nder the mesic conditions that occrred in LITERATURE CITED Campbell, H., D. K. Martin, P. E. Ferkovich and B. K. Harris Effects of hnting and some other environmental factors on scaled qail in New Mexico. Wildl. Monogr pp. Campbell-Kissock, L., L. H. Blankenship and J. W. Stewart Plant and animal foods of bobwhite and scaled qail in sothwest Texas. Sothwest. Nat. 30: Leedy, D. L The Ohio pheasant range revisited. Ohio Dep. Nat. Resor., Div. Wildl., Colmbs. 70pp. Martin, A C., R. H. Gensch and C. P. Brown Alternative methods in pland gamebird food analysis. J. Wildl. Manage. 10:8-12. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish New Mexico wildlife management. 250pp. Santa Fe. 4

6 Schemnitz: Scaled Qail Habitats Revisited - Oklahoma Panhandle Scaled Qail Habitats-Schemnitz Rollins, D Diets of sympatric bobwhite and scaled qail in Oklahoma. Proc. Ann. Conf. Sotheast Fish Wildl. Agencies 35: Sasser, R Where did the qail go? Texas Parks Wildl. 49(8): Sanders, D. K. and J. W. Parrish Assimilated energy of seeds consmed by scaled qail in Kansas. J. Wildl. Manage. 51: Schemnitz, S. D Ecology of the scaled qail in the Oklahoma panhandle. Wildl. Monogr pp Comparative ecology of bobwhite and scaled qail in the Oklahoma panhandle. Am. Midl. Nat. 71 : United States Department of Commerce Agricltral censs. Brea of Censs Agricltral censs. Brea of Censs. Pblished by Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange,