Woody cover is critical for bobwhite management

[Editor's note: This column is co-authored Mark McConnell, who is an associate professor in the MSU Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and aquaculture. He is also the James C. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Upland Gamebird Ecology and chair in the Bryan Endowment for Bobwhite Habitat Restoration at MSU.]

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Woody cover is one of the most important parts of habitat for Northern Bobwhite but is often overlooked.

When managing for bobwhites, people often think about native bunch grasses or predators first. However, bobwhites are rarely limited by grass, and while predators can certainly pose a management challenge, protecting them from predators is the first step in predator management. Woody cover is essential for helping bobwhite escape predators and protect them from extreme weather.

Think about a typical hot, humid summer day in Mississippi. When it is very hot outside, most people do not stand in the sun for long. They move into the shade where it feels cooler. Bobwhites do the same thing. They seek places that help them stay cool and safe from predators. This is not just about comfort; it is about survival.

A bobwhite standing in direct sunlight on bare ground gets much hotter than one resting under a shrub or blackberry bramble thicket. Adult bobwhites experience thermal stress when temperatures rise above about 86 degrees Fahrenheit. When this happens, bobwhites often stop moving as much, breathe faster, and look for shade. Young bobwhite chicks are especially sensitive to heat because they cannot regulate their body temperature very well. Therefore, having a cooler place to avoid the heat and predators is crucial.

But air temperature alone does not tell the whole story. Wildlife biologists often look at something called operative temperature, which is how bobwhites experience temperature. This accounts for air temperature, air flow and how sunlight reflects off the soil and vegetation. Not all woody cover creates the same operative temperature for bobwhites. More research on which types of cover are best at different times of the year is needed, but what we do know is that most properties need more woody cover and more diverse types of woody cover.

Summertime in Mississippi is certainly a period of thermal stress for bobwhites, but do not rule out the importance of woody cover during winter. Bobwhites need shelter from rain, snow, ice, wind and freezing temperatures. This past winter’s ice storm is a perfect example. Parts of northern Mississippi were covered in ice for several days, and the temperature was well below what bobwhites are used to.

Bobwhites tend to hunker down and try to stay as dry and warm as they can in this type of weather. But without enough quality woody cover, this is almost impossible. Properties with good woody and shrubby cover tended to fare better than those without them. On one of our research projects in Panola County, our birds moved into thick woody shrub cover ahead of the storm and stayed there until the ice melted. All of our birds survived the storm because the property had prioritized quality woody cover for a weather event just like that one.

In Mississippi, one of the best shrub species for bobwhites is the Chickasaw plum. Bobwhites use Chickasaw plum all year long. It gives them winter protection, summer shade, hiding cover and a place to escape predators. Other helpful native shrubs include dogwoods, sumacs, blackberry and raspberry thickets, American beautyberry, blueberry thickets and woody vine thickets. These plants create safe places for quail across the landscape.

Different shrubs provide different benefits. Some are better in winter, like the plums, while others are better in summer, such as the sumacs. Because of this, the best habitat usually includes several kinds of native shrubs spread across the property.

Landowners and managers cannot change the weather, but they can change how bobwhites experience weather by managing the vegetation. A small patch of shrub cover can make a big difference for bobwhites during hot or cold weather. When native shrubs are kept on the land, they help bobwhites survive, reproduce and thrive.