Gary Homerstad on need for wildlife water.

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From: John Childress
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 12:07 AM
To: Larry Brown; Gary Homerstad

Subject: quail

Who said quail don't drink water?

From: Mike McMurry 

To: John Childress ; Gary Homerstad 

You bet! If it's available, they surely will.  When it's dry and native foods have low moisture content especially.

We installed about 20 concrete dish quail waterings with dripping faucets on about 3,000 acres of prime quail habitat at San Pedro Ranch in Dimmit County in the spring of 1987. That was a boom quail year. By August it was dry...and getting dryer.  Late Pm in August it was not unusual to find 2-4 coveys at each watering. Blues will drink too if water is available 

From: Gary Homerstad
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 11:53 AM
To: Mike McMurry; John Childress

Subject: Re: quail

Earlier in the 1980's, large shallow concrete watering devices were installed via black plastic pipe on a quarter-mile spacing on a 3200 acre ranch in Hidalgo County.  Within two years that ranch documented more than 4 quail per acre (Texas A&I...now A&M Kingsville).  I hunted on that ranch and it was a matter of which covey to pursue as multiple coveys would be flushed at once.  A similar wildlife watering system distribution spacing was completed later on a nearby ranch of almost twice the acreage.  A boom in turkey numbers followed there.  But I'm sure that was all just a coincident...right?  (Tongue-in-cheek.)        

From: Mike McMurry 

To: Gary Homerstad ; John Childress 

Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 12:13 PM

Subject: RE: quail

Yep I've been there...and some of those folks that think surface water doesn't help quail don't believe that quail and turkeys get their feathers wet and go back to their nests.....maybe because they have never seen them do it. :))  

Turkeys use artificial roosts too....at least Rios do.:)