Quail hunters encouraged to participate in survey
Published 2:37 pm Friday, December 15, 2023
- A bobwhite quail. (Courtesy Photo | United States Fish and Wildlife Service)
BARLOW — Local quail hunters are needed to help Mississippi State University researchers and MDWFP evaluate quail management at Copiah County Wildlife Management Area and other state lands.
MDWFP and Mississippi State University are currently conducting a cooperative research project evaluating quail population response to habitat management and surrounding land use and composition around five Wildlife Management Areas across Mississippi (Black Prairie, Charles Ray Nix, Copiah County, Divide Section, and Marion County WMAs). The survey is not limited to those five WMAs, but Copiah County and the other four WMAs are intensively managed for quail.
MDWFP and MSU are asking for quail hunter feedback about your hunting experiences on these and any other WMAs they may hunt with a short survey. This survey is voluntary and anonymous and the MDWFP or MSU are not asking for any personal information. They are asking that one survey be completed for a hunting party (if more than one hunter) each time you hunt a WMA.
There are two way to take the survey:
- Click here to take the Bobwhite Quail Hunting Survey
- Take the survey on the MDWFP App:
- Download the MDWFP App
- Click the “Field Guide” button
- At the bottom of the list, select “Bobwhite Quail Hunting Survey”
Although harvest numbers are recorded through the WMA Daily Permit card or Check-in App, those data do not provide MDWFP with reliable estimates of the amount of time hunters spend hunting. Nor do they provide information on hunting party size or the number of dogs used that may provide some additional information on hunting effort and success.
This survey ends on March 5, 2024
Other ways quail hunters, land managers and wildlife enthusiasts can help research and management efforts is participating in the Bobscapes survey. The phone application allows people to enter GPS coordinates and other information about how many quail they heard or saw on a property.
Mississippi is fourth in the nation for Bobwhite Quail reports in the survey with 126. Missouri is first with 258 reports, Georgia is second with 236 reports and Kansas is third with 153 reports. Bobscapes is a great way for citizens to be involved in science.