re: More information about declining bobwhite quail numbers

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I just do not believe this. Before the mid 80s all predators were trapped very hard. Lots of guys made a living doing it. I was in my mid 20s before I saw a live bobcat. Now we are over ran with predators, it's nothing to see a family of coons come to your feeder or see several bobcat, fox and coyotes while hunting. Then throw in the feral cats, it's easy to see that all these predators have got to take a heavy toll on birds
like quail.

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Bring back wolves. Would solve a lot of those problems.

However, habitat loss is the main culprit. Everything else is a byproduct of habitat loss or degradation.

Everything is predatory on quail and grouse eggs, you just gotta kill everything to protect the #s

Tall Timbers is an organization that has been doing wildlife research in Florida for a long time. Lots of good information comes from them...

The Rise and Fall Of Quail In Georgia
Where Have They Gone - Can They Make A Comeback?
November 2002 (updated June 2010)

Cattle Egrets, Armadillos, and Fire Ants

These three species are all exotics in Georgia that were either rare or nonexistent back in the “good ole
days” of Georgia quail hunting. Since they are all abundant now, and quail have declined over much of their former range in the sate, there has been a great deal of speculation as to the role these species may have played in quail decline. Much of this stems from incidental observations and anecdotal evidence of someone seeing either a cowbird gobble up a brood of quail chicks or fire ants in a nest where the eggs were trying to hatch. All three of these species have, indeed, been documented destroying quail nests and/or chicks. And in fact armadillos have been shown to rank in the top five mid-sized mammalian quail nest predators. However, this doesn’t indicate that any of these species are singularly responsible for the bobwhite decline. And as will be discussed later, these species are all very abundant, even on the southwest Georgia private plantations where the best quail populations in the state occur. There is currently some renewed interest in the fire ant question due to problems recently documented in Texas where a high-mound density, multiple-queen variety of ant occurs. It is our opinion that unless some new information proves otherwise, these species should be considered “incidental” quail predators and for the most part disregarded as being major contributors to declining quail populations.

I think it is a accumulation of everything and not a smoking gun...

And house cats, don't forget them...

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I believe fire ants have contributed more than anything else to their decrease. Remember, fire ants were not widespread till the 70's.

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However, habitat loss is the main culprit. Everything else is a byproduct of habitat loss or degradation.

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famous biologist E.O. Wilson was the first to notice the fire ants near Mobile, AL.

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Think where we would be if we firebombed Mobile then...