A mild winter last year and a cool, wet summer have helped produce good bobwhite quail populations in much of Kansas this season.

However, in the wake of recent ice storms, many hunters are wondering if one of the best quail seasons in several years will be a short-lived phenomenon.

Wildlife and Parks quail biologist Roger Applegate says the outlook may not be good in some parts of the state.

“The problem is that the ice has locked quail out of many food sources,” Applegate said. “Quail also need cover where they can stay relatively warm and travel in and out to feed.”

CRP [Conservation Reserve Program] grass can help the birds stay warm, but it offers little food if it’s the standard grass planting. If the planting has a good mix of forbs, such as sunflower, then it could be a better situation.

Applegate added that increased quail production last summer has put coveys in places of marginal habitat.

“Those birds could be in trouble,” he said. “Birds in prime habitat should be okay unless this weather continues for an extended period.”

One such period occurred in January of 2002, when portions of the state suffered a month with extreme cold and snow.

According to Roger Wells, a quail biologist with Quail Unlimited, what Kansas is currently experiencing has not yet reached that level, but the situation is threatening.

“Quail can lose half their body weight if locked out of food for three to four days,” Wells said. “After that, some may start dying. But how much impact we’ve had so far, we don’t know. It hasn’t been that extremely cold for a long period, but birds locked out of food are in trouble.”

Landowners can help local populations by strategically placing feeders on their property.

“Feeders need to be placed near good cover close to travel lanes,” Wells said. “Those places where when you’re hunting you just know their ought to be a covey of quail.”