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The Quail Comeback
By Russell Graves
After a banner year across Texas’ quail lands, spring brought optimism. Each morning in the haunts where wild bobwhite quail are found, male bobwhites incessantly cry their familiar call in search for a mate. It’s a comforting and hopeful sound if you are a quail hunter. The hope is that the male finds a female with which to mate and populate the brush with dozens of new baby quail.
Throughout much of Texas, spring rains have been ample enough to give bloom to a host of seed-producing plants and a hatch of bugs that are essential sources of protein for young chicks. While the volume of rain that’s fallen this spring is paltry compared to 2015, it’s generous when you compare it to the long term drought that plagued the state in the early part of the decade, a drought that decimated bobwhite populations to the point that some die-hard hunters wondered if they’d ever return.
Silas Ragsdale was one of those hunters. “This has always been a good quail place up until a few years ago when the birds started to disappear,” lamented Ragsdale, speaking of his quail hunting spread located near Hedley in the southeastern Texas Panhandle. “They were never really completely gone over the past few years, but their numbers were noticeably scarce.”
On his first day back in the field this past season, Ragsdale already had a renewed optimism in regards to the future of bobwhite quail. The birds, it seemed were back and his worries were assuaged—at least for now.
To read more pick up a copy of the November 2016 NTFR issue or call 940-872-5922 to subscribe.
By: Jelly Cocanougher
Delicate microbes buried just beneath the surface. We walk by them, unbeknownst to us. Spores, spawn, and sclerotia, each with distinct characteristics. It is said that these fungi are all connected, speaking to one another as they populate the earth. The interconnectedness of all living things and the decaying world, such beauty lies within these otherworldly alien organisms.
On The Road With Dave Alexander
Rarely will you find an event center that includes a music venue, a steakhouse and a wildlife refuge all rolled into one.
Oak Meadow Ranch has been welcoming guests for over two decades with one thing in mind, your complete happy experience.
The Chef Dinner and Exotic Animal Experience includes a four-course meal followed by a hands-on experience with exotic animals.
You can catch up with Dave at the Birthplace of Western Swing Festival in Fort Worth, Texas on November 7, or at the Irving Symphony Orchestra in Irving, Texas on November 9. To read more about his experience at Oak Meadow Ranch, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print.
To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Lindsey Monk
On Aug. 22, 2024 at 11:40 p.m., the Remington fire jumped the line in Wyoming to burn towards Montana at a high rate of speed. The fire burned 194,459 acres and over 41 miles from one end to the other in a span of two days. Livestock producers will be feeling the effects for years to come.
Pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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