Texas Quail Surveys Point to Another Good Season Opening November 1

Texas quail season opens November 1, and the state's August roadside surveys point to good numbers, Texas Parks and Wildlife says. Biologists drove more than 3,300 miles of survey routes, and most ecoregions counted more bobwhites per route than their 15-year average, helped by good habitat and timely rain despite a hot, dry summer.

South Texas averaged 10.17 bobwhites per route, above its 15-year mean of 9.92, after multiple successful hatches; the Chaparral and James E. Daughtrey wildlife management areas offer public hunting there. The Rolling Plains came in slightly lower than last year but should still hunt well, with public bobwhite hunting on the Matador, Gene Howe and Teacup Mountain WMAs. Teacup Mountain is a relatively new 11,091-acre area being managed in part for bobwhites.

Scaled quail continued an upward trend, beating the 15-year average in most ecoregions, with late spring rain giving nesting a boost in the Trans-Pecos and Edwards Plateau. The department expects South Texas and the Trans-Pecos, traditionally the strongest regions, to be best.