Quail biologist Justin Rectenwald tracking quail during a research hunt near Albany, Georgia.
By Justin Rectenwald and Amanda Cramer
As hunters, we strive to hunt ethically, shoot cleanly and recover any shot birds.
Despite every effort a hunter makes while pursuing wildlife, some amount of unrecovered harvest is inevitable. Part of bobwhite management is harvest management. Making a complete accounting of all harvested birds, whether they make it into the game bag or not, is important. Tall Timbers recommends a conservative harvest rate of up to 15% of the fall population for bobwhites, which includes unrecovered birds.
Managers and hunters have always understood that there is some level of unrecovered harvest that needs to be factored into harvest decisions. Yet, despite bobwhite being one of the most researched gamebirds in the world, we have not had a confident estimate of the true loss from unrecovered harvest. Previous estimates (often 10-20%) were considered unrealistically low and frequently not accounted for in harvest recommendations, partly due to the uncertainty.
To address this knowledge gap, the Tall Timbers Game Bird Program and the Martin GAME Lab at the University of Georgia initiated a three-year comprehensive study to determine the unrecovered harvest rate of bobwhites at Tall Timbers, Livingston Place, the Central Florida Rangeland Quail Program and the Albany Quail Project.
Our staff of biologists and technicians joined hunting parties to collect data on radio-tagged bobwhites. We counted the number of shots taken at a covey, the number of birds shot and recovered and the number of birds shot and not recovered. And importantly, in the days following a hunt, we tracked the radio-tagged birds to find any that died because of hunt-related injuries or were knocked down and unrecovered by the hunting party.
Radiograph of bobwhite found the day after hunts showing pellets.
HERE IS WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT UNRECOVERED HARVEST BY TRACKING 1,700 RADIO-TAGGED BIRDS ON 181 HUNTS DURING THE 2021-2023 SEASONS:
1) The unrecovered harvest rate was 33% of the total harvest. This means that for every two birds that were shot and recovered in the field, one additional bird was shot and not recovered.
2) Most unrecovered birds died within a day following a hunt.
3) Hunters are likely to underestimate true rates of unrecovered harvest. We found that for every three birds that were observed as hit by hunters, an additional one was completely undetected.
4) For every 100 birds retrieved to hand; 10 more were shot down but lost; 25 more were visibly hit, flew away, and later died; and an additional 10 were not observed to be hit but later died.
AS ETHICAL HUNTERS, HOW CAN YOU MINIMIZE UNRECOVERED HARVEST AND MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER BEING RETRIEVED? HERE ARE OUR TOP SUGGESTIONS FOR HUNTING SEASON:
1) Only shoot at birds that separate from the covey to reduce the odds you incidentally hit other birds in the covey.
2) Don’t worry about doubles. Keep your eyes on the bird you first shoot at and be prepared to follow up with a second shot to knock it down if needed.
3) Get a good mark and spend time finding downed birds with a retriever.
4) Consider a one-bird-per-covey-rise limit per person to reduce the total shot count and to help hunters focus on the one bird.
Most importantly, keep your total bobwhite harvest conservative. With the 33% unrecovered harvest rate, we are returning two birds to the bag for every three that were actually harvested, one being unrecovered. If you are managing a property, build the unrecovered harvest rate into your planning by not bringing more than 10% of your fall population to the bag so that you don’t harvest more than 15% (accounting for unrecovered birds).
Having an estimate of how many bobwhite are in the fall population, and keeping good records of harvest for each property are critical for harvest management. Otherwise, there is a risk of harvesting more than the population can replenish in the subsequent breeding season. This can lead to fewer birds than you might have otherwise had next fall, a declining population, or both.
COMPENSATORY VS. ADDITIVE HARVEST
Perhaps no terms are more misunderstood/misapplied in harvest management than compensatory vs additive harvest. We must first understand that both terms are abstractions of complex ecological systems and they are on a spectrum intended to help us understand and describe an animal’s life history.
• Compensatory harvest can be summarized as “any animal that is harvested would have been lost anyway to some other cause.
• Additive harvest can be summarized as “every animal harvested is in addition to what would have otherwise died from some other cause.
The truth, as it often is, is somewhere in between. For example, bobwhite can sustain a high level of mortality (from whatever cause) due to their complex and vigorous reproductive strategy. But there are limits to this, and at some level, harvest can become additive, leading to fewer birds in the subsequent fall population. Yet, bobwhite exhibit a limited level of density dependent reproduction, meaning they can make up for higher mortality losses with higher reproduction, but only up to a point. So, the idea of partial compensation is more accurate to describe bobwhite.
Listen to Tall Timbers quail biologists discuss their research on the On the Wing podcast
