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Quail Hunting in Texas – Quail Habitat First

There is nothing more fun than quail hunting in Texas with the use of some good bird dogs. Quail populations can be boom or bust depending on the year, but the long-term average has been on the decline. Texas still offers good quail hunting, but the birds are not found in as many places as they used to. Of the two remaining stronghold regions for quail in Texas, the Rolling Plains has not had a quality quail hunting season during the past three years.

But the quail up North are not alone. South Texas has not had a quality quail hunting season during two of the past three years. For South Texas, it’s been reported that juvenile:adult age ratios were lower than 1:1 during those years. The problem, as experts see it, is that an extreme and persistent La Niña oscillation in the Pacific Ocean has been the driver behind historic drought and excess heat during much of this period.

The La Niña oscillation broke down a bit in late 2009, and we received some well-deserved rain in 2010. In South Texas, bobwhite quail responded quite well to this influx of rainfall, and the 2010-2011 quail hunting season was very good. Quail researchers recorded juvenile:adult age ratios as high as 5:1 in many areas. That is the kind of reproduction it takes to sustain quail and provide quality hunting opportunities.

Bobwhite and scaled quail in the Rolling Plains also responded to the 2010 rainfall pulse; quail surveys found that their numbers increased by 20% from 2009 based on Texas Parks and Wildlife Department roadside count data. However, quail numbers in 2009 were historically low and even with this increase, the 2010-2011 quail season in the Rolling Plains was lousy and quail hunters were extremely disappointed.

Hunters were left scratching their heads as to why the 2010-2011 quail season in the Rolling Plains was so terrible, when in fact it was simply unrealistic to expect that quail numbers could triple or quadruple in one year.

Since that time, La Niña—has come roaring back, delivering even more drought and heat. The result was virtually no quail production in either the Rolling Plains or South Texas during the 2011 nesting season.
The result of such extended drought and excess heat is that under such conditions, quail production essentially goes to zero no matter how much good quail habitat and usable space is available. In fact, researchers have 10 years of management data that shows more than 90% of the variation in annual production of bobwhites in South Texas is explained by cumulative rainfall (habitat quality) from April through August.

In habitats such as those found in South Texas, adequate rainfall is the key driver of quail populations, so long as ample habitat and usable space for quail is kept on the landscape. The current plight of quails in Texas has caused many people, including those who wield great influence over public opinion, to call for cutting back quail seasons in Texas by either shortening the season, reducing the bag limits, or both.

While these opinions are well intentioned, substantial research on quail has found that shortening the season or reducing bag limits will do nothing to solve the plight of quails in Texas. It is impossible to repair quail populations with regulations. It has been tried numerous times. It has failed every time it has been tried. The quail hunting in Texas has suffered due to drought conditions. Even quail populations found in good habitat have had pitiful production. Let’s hope it rains.

Deer Hunting Tracking Tips: Shot Placement Matters

Hunters spend a lot of time preparing for the fall whitetail deer hunting season, but sometimes the most important thing is not the gear, it’s not even the deer, but it’s shot placement that is the deciding factor on whether or not one takes a deer home or not. After decades spent in the field, I’ve learned a lot about deer hunting and tracking these animals, not that I’ve had to track that many, at least not that far.

Most of my deer hunting tracking trips have been fairly short, typically about 35 to 50 yards. And for those that aim for heart and lung shots, this is about the distance you should expect a hit animal to run before it runs out of gas, or better stated, oxygenated blood. In my opinion, the lung shot is my favorite place when it comes to shot placement. Even when I don’t need to track the animal, because I see it collapse within eyesight, I still make sure to take note of the blood trail. Continue reading Deer Hunting Tracking Tips: Shot Placement Matters

Granger Lake Home to Whooping Cranes

Two families of Whooping Cranes, who have set up home base at Granger Lake, Granger Wildlife Management Area and the surrounding agricultural area are creating a lot of buzz within the bird watching community found in Texas Two months ago, reports started coming in to Granger Lake Manager, James Chambers, that a family of three whooping cranes had been spotted nearby. Shortly after, reports of another family came in.

“We have two different distinct crane groups, both with a male and female adult and a juvenile,” said Chambers. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has a particular interest in the birds because they usually migrate from northwestern Canada, heading the 2,500 miles to Aransas National Wildlife Rescue.

The whooping cranes are not only eating the fresh water clams along the shoreline of Granger Lake but they’re eating insects and even grains left behind in the cornfields in Granger. The birds are causing quite a stir for curious bird lovers across the state. The Williamson Audubon Society was spotted checking out birds Wednesday, saying the area has always been a great place to bird watch, but now that Whooping Cranes are in the area, the excitement has grown.

Ducks and goose hunter should be careful while in field and hunting around Granger Lake. The whooping cranes at Granger Lake are creating a lot of buzz, so it will be interesting to see how it call plays out!

Venison Boudin Recipe

While living near the western edge of Louisiana is Southeast Texas I was introduced and learn to love Cajun boudin. I believe the French refer to this sausage-like product of consisting of meat and rice as boudin blanc, but I think the Cajuns took it to the next level. Having had a real hankering for some spicy boudin one afternoon, I decided to put together a venison boudin recipe that would satisfy this craving, and at least land close in taste to the boudin I used to enjoy.

As it turns out, this boudin recipe is the real deal! This is a great use for ground venison, whether you decide to put it into casings or used for venison boudin balls, also a tasty treat.

Ingredients

5 pounds of ground venison
3 cups of diced green onion
1 cup diced white onion
5 diced jalepeno peppers, seeds removed
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cayenne (red) pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons salt

5 cups of rice
10 cups of water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

Directions

Begin by combining ground venison, onions, jalepenos and the first round of seasonings (black and red pepper, garlic and salt) into a large pot (8+ quarts). Cook the meat and onion mixture until browned. Next, drain off liquid and retain. Add 10 cups of water to the meat, adding in the retained liquid as part of the 10 cup total. Turn the heat up to high. Then combine the second round of seasonings, which includes salt, garlic powder, paprika and oregano. Mix thoroughly and bring the venison/rice mixture to a boil.

As boiling begins, cover the pot, turn the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let the pot sit for an additional 10 minutes. The “dirty rice” can now be left to cool for stuffing into casings or may be used for creating fried boudin balls, also a crowd-pleasing appetizer. After stuffing, boudin must be steamed, smoked or grilled prior to eating to cook the casing. I prefer to put my boudin sausage in a smoker for about one hour at 200 degrees.

This venison boudin recipe is quite simple and has been a real hit around our house. We eat our boudin right out of the casing or on crackers with mustard or Louisiana hot sauce.

Scimitar Horned Oryx, Addax, Dama Gazelle ESA Permits Needed Now

There has been a lot of chatter about the potential permitting status change of scimitar-horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This change would drastically change the hunting of these species in Texas and other states. Well, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a final rule to eliminate a regulation that authorized certain otherwise prohibited activities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with U.S. captive-bred animals and sport-hunted trophies of three endangered African antelope species.

The regulation being eliminated had excluded these three species from permitting requirements as long as certain conditions were met. These species must now be permitted. The removal of this exclusion requires anyone in the United States who possesses any of these three antelope species to obtain authorization from the USFWS if they wish to carry out otherwise prohibited activities, including interstate or foreign commerce, import, export (including re-export), culling or other forms of take.

The USFWS currently approves such activities for similar ESA-listed captive-bred species on ranches and in zoos under the same authorization process. If a captive-breeding facility, such as a zoo or ranch, is legally carrying out activities that were previously authorized under the exclusion, they should be able to continue those activities with the proper permit or other authorization.

In 2005, the USFWS added these three antelope species with native ranges in Africa to the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The species all inhabit the sparse desert regions of Northern Africa. The dama gazelle and addax are considered critically endangered, while free-ranging populations of the scimitar-horned oryx may no longer exist in the wild. However, these species, particularly the scimitar-horned oryx, breed well in captivity. There are thought to be thousands of these animals in zoos, on game ranches, and in other such facilities in the United States and elsewhere.

Captive breeding in the United States has contributed to the survival of the scimitar-horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle worldwide by rescuing these species from near extinction and providing the founder stock necessary for reintroduction. However, many U.S. game ranches offer limited hunting of these species on their lands to manage the size of their populations and remove surplus males.

In general, the ESA prohibits the import or export of any listed species, or its parts or products, as well as sale in interstate or foreign commerce, without prior authorization from the Service. However, in an effort to support captive breeding of these critically endangered species and maintain genetically viable populations, the Service granted an exclusion at the time these species were listed that allowed owners of these animals to continue carrying out breeding and other activities, including interstate commerce and hunting for herd management, without obtaining an individual permit.

The exclusion was challenged in Federal District Court by Friends of Animals and other groups. In 2009, the court remanded the regulation back to the USFWS, directing the agency to provide opportunities for the public to review and comment when authorizing otherwise prohibited activities — interstate or foreign commerce, import or re-import, export or re-export, or take (other than normal husbandry, breeding, and non-injurious veterinary procedures) — with these listed species, consistent with the ESA.

The Service considered whether there were alternative means to meet the Court’s ruling without requiring ranches or other facilities to obtain a permit or other authorization. However, the USFWS was unable to identify a viable alternative from either internal discussions or its review of public comments.

Consequently, the USFWS is announcing a final rule eliminating the exclusion of the three endangered African antelope species from certain prohibitions under the ESA. The final rule requires individuals to obtain an endangered species authorization under the currently established ESA regulations by applying for a permit or captive-bred wildlife registration to conduct any prohibited activities.

The final rule will become effective 90 days after its publication in the Federal Register on April 4, 2012. The hunting of scimitar-horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle can still continue, but the permitting process will create additional hassle and cost. I suspect many ranches will completely eliminate these species from their property before these regulations take affect.

South Texas Rut Heats Up

Over the years we have all read plenty of magazines and have heard plenty of lip-service about how big whitetail bucks let down during the rut. This is only slightly true, because big bucks, which are usually old bucks, are not stupid, after all. The whitetail deer breeding season does make bucks move more during daylight hours, which makes them more likely to be seen by hunters and increases your chances for harvesting one. It may be the first day in January, but the rut is still on for those deer hunting in South Texas. It’s time to be in the stand!

Reports from South Texas indicate that the rut is in full swing, and will likely carry on for at least another week. One guide I spoke with said the deer were rutting hard in mid-December, but other ranches had yet to see any sign. The drought of 2011 not only put the hurt on native plants, but it impacted whitetail too. Hunting reports indicated that the whitetail rut was delayed a week or two in other regions of Texas, so why should South Texas be any different? It’s not.

Jim Medina of Encinal said, “Older bucks are finally starting to show themselves. Rains received over the past few weeks created a garden of high quality food for deer to eat, but the rut is finally making them come out of the brush. It’s really hard to hunt deer when you can’t see them. The quantity of green foods has kept them from coming to feeders.” This could still make things tough during the rut. After all, a hunter still needs to see deer.

In South Texas, deer hunting typically heats up during the rut which usually occurs right around Christmas day. With things running late this year, it’s time to be in the field and looking for rutting deer even though we are now into the new year. The precipitation received during the fall has allowed deer to put on weight and improve overall body condition. Body condition is important for breeding deer because deer in poor condition will sometimes abandon breeding altogether.

Field reports verify that bucks are now actively pursuing does, so that makes them more vulnerable. Not because they are stupid, but because they are more diurnal, moving more during daylight hours. The South Texas rut is always late compared to the rest of Texas, but this year it’s a little late even by South Texas standards. That said, it’s now time to go deer hunting if you hunt South Texas! Best of luck!

Texas Bighorn Sheep Restoration

Desert bighorn sheep once roamed all of the “sky islands” found in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, but most were eliminated over 50 years ago by unregulated bighorn sheep hunting and disease introduction. Enter re-stocking efforts, increased regulations and conservation-minded landowners and bighorn sheep numbers have been going up and up over the past few decades; the bighorn sheep population has reached record highs! Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is responsible for making this happen. And although the bighorn program has been a success, it’s far from over.

In the largest desert bighorn sheep relocation operation in Texas history, a total of 95 desert bighorn sheep have been trapped this month in the mountains north of Van Horn and released about 190 miles away on Big Bend Ranch State Park. Of those captured, 76 were ewes and were 19 rams. The sheep were captured by helicopter on several private ranches and one of the state’s Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) located in the Beach, Sierra Diablo and Baylor mountain ranges of Culberson County. The animals were transported by trailer to the 300,000-acre state park in Presidio County.

The bighorn sheep restoration operation began December 12 at the civic center in Van Horn with a briefing for the 60 TPWD personnel and volunteers with the Texas Bighorn Society and Sul Ross University and continued through December 17. The sheep were released about 20 miles west of Lajitas, near Panther Canyon.

Last year, 46 bighorns (12 rams and 34 ewes) were captured by helicopter at Elephant Mountain WMA and moved to Big Bend Ranch State Park on December 21 and 22. Of those sheep, the first to be introduced to the state park, more than 30 are known to be alive today. “If most sheep survive, we may now have close to a sustainable population on the state park,” said Alpine-based Billy Tarrant, TPWD Wildlife Division district leader.

The restoration of bighorn sheep in Texas has been a conservation success story. “Back in the 1800s, we believe the Trans-Pecos supported around 3,000 bighorn sheep,” says Froylan Hernandez, TPWD’s bighorn sheep program leader. “But by the 1960s, unregulated bighorn sheep hunting and disease introduced through domestic sheep had made the bighorn extinct in Texas.” The last indigenous bighorn was sighted in the Sierra Diablo Mountains in October 1958, he said.

“Today, thanks to bighorn sheep restocking efforts that began more than 50 years ago, we estimate the Texas bighorn herd has increased to half its historic size and half its historic range.” TPWD’s goal is to get the Texas herd back to approximately 3,000, with colonies in most of the 16 mountain ranges with unoccupied critical habitat that sheep once inhabited. Bighorns can now be found in eight of those ranges, Hernandez said.

According to Hernandez, the removal of surplus sheep from the Baylor, Beach and Sierra Diablo Mountains will benefit the remaining herd in those three ranges, estimated at 800 animals, by reducing browsing pressure. In addition to supplementing the existing bighorn population in Big Bend Ranch State Park, the development of a robust herd in other areas also will allow future restocking efforts.

During the just-completed operation, TPWD used a private helicopter service to capture the sheep. When the pilot spotted a desirable sheep, a crew member used a gun that fired weighted nets to entangle the animal. Two “muggers” then jumped out of the low-hovering helicopter to blindfold and hobble the sheep, which was then placed a sling.

Once that was done, the helicopter took the sheep to a staging area where ground crews carried the animal to a check-in station where veterinarians took biological samples and wildlife biologists fitted some of the sheep with radio tracking collars. Then they were carefully loaded into trailers for the trip to Big Bend Ranch.

“Bighorn sheep are a flagship species,” Hernandez said. “Managing them well benefits all other species which share their habitat.” Texas only offers very limited bighorn sheep hunting, but thanks to funds collected from the sale of hunting licenses, it looks like Texas will have many more sheep on public hunting lands and private lands in the future.

Texas Public Hunting Lands Waiting on You

Often times, the only thing more difficult than finding the game your are chasing is finding a place to go hunting. Fortunately for those in the Lone Star State, the Wildlife Division of TPWD offers Texas Public Hunting Lands for sportsmen all over the state. This is great news for hunters who do not have access to privately-owned land. Public hunting lands provide good hunting opportunities and are low cost, providing access to nearly a million acres of land for hunting for those possessing the Annual Public Hunting permit (APH Permit).

The Annual Public Hunting Permit is a steal at only $48. The permit is valid from September 1 through August 31 of the following year. The hunting permit allows an access to designated public hunting lands in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s public hunting lands program. Hunting is allowed during legal hunting seasons for squirrel, rabbits and hares, white-tailed deer, feral hogs, spring eastern turkey, predators, furbearers, and fishing. All this without having to pay daily permit fees.

The North and South Zone Duck Season re-opened December 10 and while TPWD wildlife management areas have strong hunter numbers taking advantage of duck hunting over the weekend hunt dates, the weekday hunt dates leave plenty of available waterfowl hunting areas and quality hunting for those hunters who might have hunting time during the week. In my opinion, this is the most enjoy time to be out in the marshes.

According to Amos Cooper, duck hunting is quite good on public hunting lands and reservoirs where fresher water conditions and waterfowl food resources can still be found. “Puddle ducks prefer shallow water, and we have an abundance (record numbers of several species) of ducks on the continent this year,” Cooper said. “Specifically, check out the duck hunts on the Big Hill Unit of the JD Murphree WMA where the hunter daily duck bag was close to 4 birds per man per day during the first waterfowl season split.” Compartments two, three and five are always crowd favorites with plenty of birds.

Waterfowl hunting is not the only game available. There is still plenty of feral hog hunting to be found. According to survey results compiled by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service 74 percent of Texas’ 254 counties contain feral hog populations and there is a good chance TPWD offers feral hog hunting opportunities in those counties on public hunting lands.

“Right now is as good a time as any to hit the woods hard for ol’ pig sooie,” said Bill Adams, Pineywoods Ecosystem Project Leader. “In East Texas there are several WMAs that offer year-round hog hunting, but staff recommend keying in on those areas associated with rivers such as Alabama Creek, Alazan Bayou, Angelina Neches/Dam B, North Toledo Bend, and Blue Elbow Swamp Wildlife Management Areas, for the best hog hunting action.“

Along with the appropriate Texas hunting licenses and stamps, permit holders may take youth under age 17 hunting free of charge on these Texas public hunting lands. Youth hunting on departmental public hunting lands must be accompanied by a supervising adult 18 years of age or older who possesses the required APH Permit, a valid hunting license and any required stamps and permits.

TPWD’s new online map feature allows for “virtual scouting” of Texas public hunting lands. By clicking on the locator points, you can follow links to detailed aerial maps with highlighted boundaries and links to information pages from the APH information map booklet. A downloadable Google Earth file is also available that contains all the public hunting areas boundary information along with links to the corresponding APH permit map booklet pages.

Deer Hunting at Granger WMA: Big Buck Down!

Texas is well known for white-tailed deer hunting, but the east-central part of the state is really a hidden gem. Much of the glitz a glam belongs to South Texas, though the Texas Panhandle has really started to shine in recent years. One of the best places for big bucks, hidden within a one hour drive from Austin, is the Granger Wildlife Management Area (WMA). This place is managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and this public hunting land is home to some giant white-tailed bucks.

This year, the Granger WMA had four, five day hunts. One of my good friends was lucky enough to get drawn for the second hunt, but came up empty handed despite seeing many legal bucks (bucks with an inside spread of 13 inches or greater or bucks with at least one unbranched antlers). He did see two true-to-life monsters, but they never got within bow range. And for those not in the know, deer hunters do not go to the Granger WMA looking for legal bucks, they go out looking for big, Kansas-style deer. Check out this big buck shot at the Granger WMA earlier this week:

“Earlier this year, in August, I received a letter in the mail informing me that my dad, my buddy and me had drawn the Granger WMA Crossbow hunt the week of 12-16 of December. I didn’t know a whole lot about whitetail deer hunting on this place, so I started during a little research. I kept hearing over and over that Granger is home to some very high quality bucks. I also went to TBH as an avenue for more info. I was lucky enough to meet a good guy that gave me a wealth of information and really got me prepared for this deer hunt.

So, I had drawn the crossbow-only hunt and I didnt even own a crossbow, let alone shoot one. I knew I was gonna miss my carbon element. I picked up an Excalibur Axiom and started practicing. We arrived here on Sunday, a day early, to scout the place the out. We did a little scouting and figured out which hunting compartments looked real good and prayed to the good Lord that we would be lucky enough to draw one of these.

Monday morning we had the hunt orientation then received the word on which units we would be hunting. We got one of the ones we were wanting, so our spirits were high and were just ready to get out there and hang some stands.

We started scouting and hanging stands at noon and this took us until 4 in the afternoon. Back home in where I deer hunt in Oklahoma, I probably would of called it a day and not hunted that night, thinking I would be getting in to the stand too late. We had been walking all over the compartment, but something inside of me told me I needed to go get in the stand for the last hour of daylight.

I climbed up in a stand we had set in a grove of cottonwood trees in the middle of a field that had a tonic sign. It looked like deer congregated in this area, then headed to the field to feed through the night. I was sitting there at 4:30, not expecting to really see anything during this deer hunting sit, but was surprised—to say the least—when 10 does started working their way down through the trees, right to my stand.

Then, another group showed and I am thinking at this point, man, we picked the right tree! Right at dark I see another deer coming from the field on a trot. I threw my binos up to see the widest buck I have ever laid my eyes on! He is 80 yards and has multiple trails he could choose—and he ended walking to the base of my tree! I was in utter disbelief when I lifted my crossbow up and aimed at this deer, only 10 yards away!

The big buck was slightly quartering to, so I put my scope on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. I heard a thwack and watched as he ran 100 yards and bedded down on the edge of the timber. I thought I had made a good hit, but we decided to let him lay until 11:00.

We got back out there later and followed the trail exactly to where I saw this buck bed down to find his was dead right in his bed. It was an awesome feeling shooting this deer out of a stand I had just hung two hours earlier, with no bait or food plot. The best part is that it was only our first night and we still have a lot of deer hunting on the Granger WMA until Friday for my buddy to fill his buck tag!”

Coyotes Attack Whitetail Buck – Deer Hunting in Oklahoma

Increased interest in white-tailed deer hunting over the decades has pushed the hypothetical gas pedal to the floor with regards to deer management. One component of most deer management plans is predator control, and coyotes get most of the attention in this category. But coyotes are smart, not easy to control. One Oklahoma deer hunter was shocked to find what his game camera found when he placed it out at his deer lease—two coyotes that kill a nice buck! If ever there was justification for reducing coyote populations, these photos would be it.

The photo shows a nice buck that is attacked and ultimately killed by two, possibly more, coyotes (more photos of coyotes kill buck). It’s a nice buck, but there must have been something up with the deer. I find it hard to believe that a buck like that could ever be taken down by two coyotes if it was completely healthy. In fact, I don’t think two coyotes would even consider attacking that deer if it was totally healthy. Most predators, coyotes included, kill the weak, sick, and very young or old. I bet this unlucky whitetail buck had to fit one of those categories.

That being said, I have read research studies on coyotes. In all cases, there local numbers are controlled by food availability more than anything else. Coyotes control is more about making you feel good as a deer hunter, deer manager, than actually reducing their impact. As long as there is ample food, primarily rabbits and mice, coyote numbers will grow. The animals will breed earlier, more often, and have bigger litters when there is plenty of food.

When the rodent numbers drop, coyote numbers follow suite. Killing coyotes only leaves more food for the ones left behind, thus resulting in more offspring. It’s just like whitetail deer management. Shooting more makes the rest more prolific because of decreased competition. It may be hard to stomach these two coyotes killing a big buck, but my guess is that this deer was not in the best condition. It’s just too bad it was so close to deer hunting season, any hunter would have been proud to fill their hunting license tag with him.