Page 15 - 2019 JAN/FEB Outdoor Oklahoma

DON P. BROWN/ODWC

Keith Lindsey and Carl Brown of the Tulsa Tallgrass Chapter of Quail Forever hoping their dogs will find some birds during the timberland research hunt.
chapters has generated something called the Timberland
Quail Hunt. The weekend event brings together some
avid quail hunters along with Department wildlife biol- DON P. BROWN/ODWC
ogists and technicians to evaluate the effects of quail
habitat improvement activities at Three Rivers Wildlife
Management Area in McCurtain County.
Biologist Dakota Christian, biologist at Three Rivers
and Honobia WMAs, has conducted whistle counts over
the years and tracked incidental sightings of quail on the
areas. The story was the same as it was across the bob-
white’s range: populations were declining. He wanted to
focus on trying to build bobwhite numbers.
“I’d like to see it back to what it was like in the early
’90s, late ’80s. It was nothing to find 10 to 15 coveys in
those days.”
John Bellah of Oklahoma City, president of the Central
Oklahoma 89er Chapter of QF, was among the 10 hunt-
ers who participated in the 2018 hunt. He recalls how the
Timberland hunt came about.
“The biologists were like “Hey, we need to get some
people down here to hunt,” because nobody was coming
down here at the time. And they knew there were birds.
So they came to us. We had some members from Tulsa
and from our chapter come down.”
Biologists wanted the bird hunters to report on how Quail Forever lifetime member Carl Brown of Sand Springs gives water
frequently they found coveys and where they found to his German short-haired pointer John Doe.
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