Dr. Dale on Quail

One could hardly imagine a better stomping ground for a sportsman than the vaulted King Ranch. Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Tio Kleberg — a name synonymous with quail hunting in South Texas.

Looking for a good quail lease? Aren’t we all! Join Dr. Dale and his guests Steve Snell and Dr. Ryan O'Shaughnessy as they share their experiences with this ongoing (and elusive) task.

Join Dr. Dale and his guests Dr. Ryan O'Shaughnessy and Joe Crafton in April as they share their collective repertoire of one-liners about bird dogs, quail hunting , and all things quail. Drawing from experiences from seasoned bird hunters, dog trainers, popular authors and others you’ll no doubt be shaking your head in agreement and proclaiming “he got that right!”

Dr. Dale's special guest this month is Macy Ledbetter with Spring Creek Outdoors. They discuss using thermal imagery from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (i.e., drones) for counting quail and other wildlife. Fascinating technology for sure!

Join Dr. Dale and Dr. Ryan O'Shaughnessy in February as they visit with special guest Britt Hosmer Longoria. Britt is a private pilot, published writer, photographer, hunter and co-founder of the Longoria-Hosmer Foundation. The Foundation is focused on sustainable-use conservation, wilderness protection and community-based solutions in biodiverse regions. Her work integrates applied science, field...

The Pineywoods of east Texas were historically a hotbed for quail hunting 50 years ago but populations have waned since that time. Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Dr. Brad Kubecka as they summarize recent efforts to revitalize quail in the Pineywoods of east Texas. Dr. Kubecka heads up Tall Timbers Research Station's Western Pineywoods Quail Initiative. His recent research is providing hope to...

Ever think seriously about the possible impacts of disease on a quail population? I have … and it intrigues me. Join me this month as Dr. Markus J. Peterson covers the gamut of diseases that can infect quail.

Over the past 40 years helicopters have become a useful and popular tool in managing wildlife populations especially for deer. But what about quail? Join Dr. Dale and Dr. Andrea Montalvo of the East Foundation as they discuss the challenges in counting quail from helicopters.

Can you identify the Top 10 seeds for quail in the Rolling Plains? If not,why not? Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Ricky Linex as they discuss the importance of various seeds important to quails in the Rolling Plains.

Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Kyle Lusson as they discuss Quail Forever's mission to conserve quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public access, education and conservation advocacy and their implementation of these efforts in Texas. Kyle also has a special connection to the Fisher County area where the Research Ranch is located and you will not want to miss that story!

Quail Coalition arose from the ashes of Quail Unlimited in 2009 and has soared since then. Their banquets around TX (and now Oklahoma City) typically gross over $4 million annually to support quail conservation. Join Dr. Dale and QC’s executive director Jay Stine as they dissect this great success story.

Technical assistance for quail managers comes in many forms. Some “talk a good game” while others deliver the goods. Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Garry Stephens, CEO of Wildlife Habitat Federation, as they dissect the “form & function” of conservation delivery.

Are coyotes a rangeland icon or pariah? How big a threat are they to quail. Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Dr. John Tomecek as they delve into recent research that may just surprise you.

Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Dr. James Martin as they dissect "Population Dynamics for Dummies." Martin is a Professor with the University of Georgia and an avid quail hunter. Topics include "old standbys" like age ratios and more challenging integrated population modeling.

Join Dr. Dale and his guest Tyler Hamilton as they delve into a search for the holy grail in quail management: success on small acreages. Hamilton is a pilot for Southwest Airlines and offers some insightful perspectives based on his property in Dickens County. He’s also a graduate of the 2022 QuailMasters class. For previous sessions, see www.quailresearch.org/resources. Thanks to Gary Joiner at...

Greg Dix earned Top Student award in the 2024 QuailMasters class. Dix resides in Missouri and has a ravenous appetite for anything/everything about bobwhites. Join Greg and Dr. Dale for an interesting perspective on what it means (and takes) to be a “Student of Quail.” The next QuailMastersclass musters in March 2026.

“Brush sculpting” is the planned, selective control of brush to enhance wildlife habitat. Think of it as applied landscaping or feng shui. Join Dr. Dale and his special guest Rory Burroughs of Comprehensive Land Management as they provide an overview of the concept, and how to increase “useable space” for quails (and other wildlife) on your property.

“Where have all the quail gone?” is a common lament, especially as one progresses east of the 99th meridian (essentially US 283). The rather acute decline in quail abundance in the eastern Rolling Plains (i.e., from Clay County southward to Coleman County) over the past 20 years is a head-scratcher. Predators, parasites, habitat change, and others are often cited as culprits. Join Dr. Dale and Jus...

Ronnie Howard has been an institution in the quail world in south Texas for over 30 years. Most of that time he was managing the San Tomas lease on the King Ranch. Join Ronnie and Dr. Dale as they retrace quail happenings in South Texas through a manager’s eyes and other wisdom gleaned from Ronnie's “San Tomas College of Knowledge.

Join Dr. Dale and his guest Dr. Michael Conover from Utah State University this month as they unravel perhaps the most romantic, and mysterious, aspect of hunting with pointing dogs, i.e., their ability to find, and point, game birds via olfaction. Dr. Conover recently published “Predator-Prey Dynamics: the Role of Olfaction” which is a thorough treatise of the origins of scent, and how wind curre...

"Patternology" is defined as "the scientific study of patterns." Join Dr. Dale and his guest Dr. Dan Foley as they discuss and dissect various patterns as they relate to quail management and quail hunting. Digest these ideas and weigh them against your own experiences afield.

Ever submitted a blood or urine sample to your doctor to assess your well-being? Join Dr. Dale and his guest Dr. Brad Kubecka as they discuss certain reproductive parameters that play important roles in annual production. Using a 15-year data set from RPQRR, they will evaluate RPQRR’s “performance.” They’ll also discuss some “sensitivity analyses” that tease out which variables are most important...

It’s been a long and winding road, but the first medicated feed for wild birds in the U.S. is now available. Join Dr. Dale and his special guests Dr. Ron Kendall, RPQRF’s past-resident Joe Crafton, and Dr. Ryan O'Shaughnessy as they share the research and development that resulted in the FDA’s labeling of QuailGuard™ for treating eyeworms and cecal worms in wild quail. QuailGuard is currently bein...

Join Dr. Dale and his guest Reggie Thackston from Thackston Wildlife Consulting LLC from the great state of Georgia. Thackston has been an inveterate “Student of Quail” for the past 40 years and has served state game agencies in Georgia, South Carolina, and Oklahoma, in addition to serving on the Board of Trustees for Tall Timbers Research Station in Florida. He is also a long-in-the-tooth quail h...

Odds are you’ve sat through a meeting on various Farm Bill programs that began to sound like “acronym soup”—EQIP, CRP, GRIP, WHIP, LIP, and the list goes on. Undoubtedly dollars for conservation abound within the Farm Bill (and other incentive programs), but are you getting your fair share therefrom? Join Dr. Dale and RPQRR’s new ranch manager Mitchell Riggs as Riggs describes strategies for makin...