Heavy Wind and Quail behavior

[Boudroux]

Howdy all. I'm no expert so hopefully there is something to be learned from my hunt yesterday.

For the past couple years I've been fortunate enough to have access to a 1400+ acre private holding that is loaded with quail. Hunting this land has been very successful for me except yesterday. Yesterday the wind was blowing very hard and we only say 6 birds total. Normally for this place you see 6 before you put your boots on, 12 by time you have finished your first cup of coffee and a couple hundred or more by the end of the day. One of the canyons at this place holds what we call the mega covey. When this covey is on the move it looks like the hillside is alive, super cool.

I was there last Thursday and had a great hunt and we saw the normal tons of quail. Yesterday was heavier wind then we have ever seen there we couldn't figure out where the birds were and how the wind effected it.

Hopefully there are some behavior patterns I can learn about regarding a heavy wind day. I did manage to get one yesterday and my legs are so sore this morning I can barely walk so it was a great day but there is much for me to learn about these birds.

Thank you for any input you can provide.

 

[8SteelTown]

Howdy all. I'm no expert so hopefully there is something to be learned from my hunt yesterday.

For the past couple years I've been fortunate enough to have access to a 1400+ acre private holding that is loaded with quail. Hunting this land has been very successful for me except yesterday. Yesterday the wind was blowing very hard and we only say 6 birds total. Normally for this place you see 6 before you put your boots on, 12 by time you have finished your first cup of coffee and a couple hundred or more by the end of the day. One of the canyons at this place holds what we call the mega covey. When this covey is on the move it looks like the hillside is alive, super cool.

I was there last Thursday and had a great hunt and we saw the normal tons of quail. Yesterday was heavier wind then we have ever seen there we couldn't figure out where the birds were and how the wind effected it.

Hopefully there are some behavior patterns I can learn about regarding a heavy wind day. I did manage to get one yesterday and my legs are so sore this morning I can barely walk so it was a great day but there is much for me to learn about these birds.

Thank you for any input you can provide.

Hard to say... In my opinion and experience with my local population, they are sporadic with everything they do. Sometimes they covey up at first light, sometimes it takes till 8:00, and sometimes not at all. A good rule of thumb is that no game animal is active during adverse weather. Animals will move if they have to but with much less frequency compared to a fair weather day. Quail use scouts to look for threats. High winds will impair their ability to hear something coming (like with most game) which will cause less productivity. I've had spots with multiple coveys 20 deep and the next day they are all spread out or not even close to the same locations. Lack of water and a small hatch probably has a lot to play into it.

 

[TaftHunter]

Locally we use to have a ton of birds where I live, chukar and quail. When it was windy, the birds would stick heavily to the brush. Have you used a quail call before? Great for locating them. Man I sure do miss quail hunting..

 

[Aeon]

What Area is your property that is holding quail? Everything I have access to is devoid of quail

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

I haven't been able to pattern them much either. I've seen coveys fly in the wind, rain, and freezing temps yet also seen them disappear much the same. The only thing I've seen for sure is if a hawk is out they will hunker down.

 

[ilovesprig]

Even my best private spots are void of any real coveys.......High winds IMO are the worst when hunting any upland bird.

 

[Boudroux]

What Area is your property that is holding quail? Everything I have access to is devoid of quail

It is off the 138 a few miles east of the 5. The owner has multiple guzzlers, a couple ponds and killer habitat.

I found desert spot last week that had tons of quail all on BLM land. Chasing those little guys around the desert was awesome but humping it through soft sand washes is much harder work. I learned real quick that without as much cover around they move away sooner. We struggled to get into range.

 

[SluiceCoot]

I've been hunting quail since I was about 13 years old. I hunt a place that sounds a bit like the place you hunt, accept it's more rolling hills on the west side of the Sierra Nevadas. Those little guys are tough to pattern sometimes. Typically, the place where I hunt, when there is weather out they covey up and hunker down more. With wind, I am able to get a bit closer due to the noise blowing through the briar bushes they are hiding in. This year for me was very tough. We really had to use a few guys and strategy in working these birds.

Good luck next year.