re: New to TD, was wondering what happenned to all the quail in S Louisiana?

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feral cats -

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Once again the coyote is the quail’s friend

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the place where I have seen the most woodcock...(north west of the river parishes....)

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We have decent populations in the coastal parishes along river bottoms and areas of damp soil. But more so after hard cold fronts come thru in Dec/Jan.
But those seem to be fewer and far between.

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do you have any experience with a Johnny house? considering building one

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Never had one, but they can be very useful for dog training. For what reason are you considering one?

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There is no current format that farmers could employ on a large scale and stay profitable that would benefit quail...

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Not sure whar you mean by large scale, but there is a 5000 acre working ranch in south Texas that manages grazing to promote wildlife habitat. It has actually resulted in increased quail on the ranch.

Obviously we don't have many people with 5000 acres of pasture in Louisiana, but it's not impossible to manage for them on working lands. It's a question of whether the desire is there.

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The Nature Conservancy does on all of the property they bought in St Tammany

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The property that is now Lake Ramsay WMA used to be in my father's family; his uncle actually built the lake. We have property to the west of the lake that used to hold tons of quail.

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property to the west of the lake that used to hold tons of quail.

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yes yes it did as did areas near bush and money hill

It's not just S LA. It's everywhere in the south.

This area and S GA used to be the quail hunting capitals of the work.

They are here anymore.

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I was in NE alabama last weekend.. bumped a couple of coveys...

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We're starting to see more on our land in Greene County, AL, but nothing like when I was a kid. We still have to bring them in to have a decent hunt

My thoughts are more on pasture than cropland. The ability to do much on cropland, even if the desire is there, is limited to a fraction of the acreage. Pasture and range have far more potential, and can be managed for wildlife and livestock effectively.

Our pastures are severely mismanaged though, even for cattle, and the interest isn't there to manage for wildlife. I've heard cattlemen talk about their youth and seeing quail all over, and wondering at where they went. These same guys spray every fence line and windrow.

The part-time cattleman is a perfect opportunity to manage for grassland dwelling birds, but he often doesn't even put enough effort into his cattle, let alone wildlife.

There's hope though. I've seen a few government programs offering cost-share and technical assistance to restore native grasses to the landscape. Maybe if those catch on, we will see the return of quail.