2009 Breeding Quail Call Count

Prepared by John Wooding, Small Game Biologist

August 31, 2009
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

Between June15 and June 30, 2009, 12 Commission biologists listened for “Bobwhite”
on 22 routes scattered across North Carolina (Table 1). Each 20 mile route consisted of
21 listening stations spaced 1 mile apart. The biologists listened for 3 minutes at each
station. A summary of the data is presented below.

Table 1. NCWRC Breeding quail call survey: routes and observers.

Biologist Route
Mike Caraway Haywood 1990
Joe Folta Edgecombe-Halifax 1990, Wake
Harlan Hall Guilford/Caswell
Isaac Harrold Wake/Johnston
Brad Howard Alexander
Michael Juhan Burke, Lincoln 1992
Ken Knight Stanly 1990
Robbie Norville Greene, Pitt-Beaufort 1990, Wayne/Duplin
Tom Padgett Cumberland, Robeson 1990, Sampson
Jon Shaw Moore/Montgomery, Rockingham (5A), Rockingham (5C) 1990
Chris Turner Hertford/Bertie, Perquimans 1990, Washington/Hyde 1986
John Wooding Yadkin

Figure 1 . N .C. Breeding Q uail S urvey : 1 9 5 7 -0 9

90
Variab le
80 C P -A VE RA G E
Average # Quail Heard by Route

P I-A VE RA G E
70 M T-A VE RA G E

60

50

40

30

20

10

1957 1965 1973 1981 1989 1997 2005

Y ear

Figure 1 above illustrates the data by region (coastal plain, piedmont, mountain). The
coastal plain continues to support the most quail among the three regions. The steep
downward trends in abundance that began in the 1960’s appear to have stabilized over the
past 10 years or so. (Note: surveys were not run in 1968 and 1975-1987)
 The Table and Figure below contains a more detailed look at the data by route for the
past 10 years. The trends by route are relatively stable, with minor ups and downs, with a
few exceptions: Cumberland, Pitt-Beufort 1990, and Lincoln 1992 declined drastically;
Perquimans 1990and Washington/Hyde 1996 increased notably.

Table 2. Breeding quail by route for the past 10 years (2000-2009). The numbers in the
table are the number of quail heard per route. The routes are organized alphabetically by
region. An “*” indicates the route was not run that year.

Route Region 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Cumberland CP 15 13 15 25 18 27 18 26 * 4
Edgecombe-Halifax 1990 CP 15 11 15 4 6 2 9 3 11 16
Greene CP 37 17 38 22 23 26 27 26 15 13
Hertford/Bertie CP 12 10 13 9 15 26 22 16 32 20
Perquimans 1990 CP 10 6 22 33 49 21 18 20 29 47
Pitt-Beaufort 1990 CP 19 34 11 16 13 6 14 10 7 10
Robeson 1990 CP 34 32 28 28 42 25 28 30 21 23
Sampson CP 39 34 45 51 54 49 46 52 49 42
Washington/Hyde 1986 CP 48 55 43 42 51 81 49 59 74 79
Wayne/Duplin CP 18 27 31 15 19 18 18 10 15 4
Alexander PI 2 6 7 4 3 1 9 5 3 0
Guilford/Caswell PI 1 3 1 3 0 1 3 4 1 0
Lincoln 1992 PI 38 30 26 20 31 29 12 11 2 4
Meck./Cabarrus PI 1 3 3 6 1 2 2 0 0 *
Moore/Mont. PI 14 12 12 14 22 16 16 11 5 7
Rockingham (5A) PI 3 3 2 2 4 4 2 4 0 6
Rockingham (5C) 1990 PI 2 3 1 2 0 6 6 5 6 13
Stanly 1990 PI 4 2 2 6 3 1 2 2 3 2
Wake PI 1 18 5 8 3 5 0 3 1 0
Wake/Johnston PI 11 9 7 5 8 4 2 5 3 3
Yadkin PI 7 8 7 5 4 1 2 1 1 3
Ashe 1990 MT 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 *
Buncombe/Madison MT 0 1 0 6 2 0 0 * * *
Burke MT 14 14 11 6 3 5 0 2 0 1
Caldwell/Wilkes MT 15 10 6 9 7 1 5 0 0 0
 Figure 2. N.C. Breeding Quail Survey: 2000-2009 by Route (# Quail Heard/Year)
2000 2000
Cumberland Edgecombe-Halifax 1990 Greene Hertford/Bertie Perquimans 1990
80

40

0
Pitt-Beaufort 1990 Robeson 1990 Sampson Washington/Hyde 1986 Wayne/Duplin
80

40

0
Alexander Guilford/Caswell Lincoln 1992 Meck./Cabarrus Moore/Mont.
80

40

0
Rockingham (5A) Rockingham (5C) 1990 Stanly 1990 Wake Wake/Johnston
80

40

0
Yadkin Ashe 1990 Buncombe/Madison Burke Caldwell/Wilkes
80

40

0
2000 2000 2000
Year

This year the data were also examined using the proportion of stations where at least one
bird was heard. We have this data going back to 1995. The data was entered by Wanda
Mungo and crew in the Raleigh office this spring, under Ryan Myers direction. The data
is posted on the Commission intranet.

The proportions of stations where at least one bird was heard are plotted below for the
period 2000 – 2009 by region. The patterns mirror those seen in Figure 1 using the
average number of quail heard/route; i.e. quail are much more abundant in the coastal
plain than elsewhere. The trends using this approach have also been relatively stable
over the past 10 years – this is good news for the coastal plain, but not so good for the
piedmont and mountains because the populations are so low that stable is not the desired
pattern.
 Proportion of Stations with One or more Calling Males
1.0
Variable
CP
MT
0.8
PI

0.6
Proportion

0.4

0.2

0.0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year