Summer Range and Habitat Preferences of Bobwhite Quail on a Southern Iowa State Game Area

In June through Aug. 1971, 13 bobwhite quail (9 cocks, 4 hens) were tracked by using radio telemetry techniques to determine summer range and habitat preferences. Of the 13 birds tracked on and near the Mt. Ayr Game Management Area, 7 provided movement data for a period of greater than 4 days. Five of the 7 also provided useful information on habitat preferences. Average lineal daily movement was 442 yards. Average daily range dimensions were 248 (length of range) x 78 (width) yards, and average total range dimensions were 805 x 518 yards. Grassy upland areas were the most prominent habitat types in the range of the five birds (50%, 138 of 279 acres), followed by crops (29%, 82 acres), wooded draws and dense shrubs (15%, 43 acres), and edge such as fence rows and hedges (6%, 16 acres). Grassy upland areas were used most (36%, 131 of 361 readings), followed by crops (26%, 93 readings), wooded draws (22%, 78 readings), and edge (16%, 59 readings). For roosting cover, grassy areas again ranked first with 71% (60 of 85 readings), followed by wooded draws (13%, 11 readings), edge (9%, 8 readings), and crops (7%, 6 readings).