#353 | Why 95% of Quail Broods Need Disturbed Ground

Quail habitat is the whole story. Kyle Hedges and Frank Loncarich spent five years following bobwhite quail across the Midwest, and the data pointed at one thing over and over: disturbed ground grows birds.

On this episode, host Nick Larson brings back Kyle Hedges and Frank Loncarich, two biologists who helped run one of the largest quail habitat studies in the region. From 2014 to 2018 they monitored 500 nests, radio-collared chicks, and even collared raccoons to see how predators move through cover. What came out of it is a genuinely hopeful finding: you can grow quail if you're deliberate about it.

The number that anchors the conversation: 95% of their brood locations were in habitat that had been burned, grazed, or otherwise disturbed within the previous 12 months. Grassland managed with fire and cattle beat the old broken-up dairy-farm model on nest success, on survival, and on eggs per nest. The thick, idle CRP field that looks so birdy in January? The chicks can't get through it.

Before the quail talk, Nick and the guys swap turkey-season stories and take on the old myth that turkeys are eating quail and grouse into decline. The short version: the timing doesn't add up, and it never did. It's a habitat problem wearing a predator's costume.

Chapters:
0:00 - 95% of Broods: The Stat That Reframes Everything
2:19 - Turkey Season Recap and a Mid-Morning Tom
15:14 - Are Turkeys to Blame for Quail and Grouse?
21:57 - Inside the 5-Year Quail Study
25:40 - Usable Space and the Numbers on Nest Success
28:23 - Why Broods Live in Recently Disturbed Cover
31:18 - Prescribed Fire and Grazing at Landscape Scale
34:37 - Why Change Is Hard on Working Farms
36:35 - The Idle CRP Problem
38:40 - How Often to Disturb: Every 1, 2, or 3 Years
41:17 - One Farm for Quail, Turkeys, and Deer
42:10 - Cost Share and the Real Price of a Burn
45:26 - Building a Fire Culture and Burn Associations
46:52 - Native Grass Restoration Goes Mainstream
48:11 - Pollinator Plantings as Quail Habitat
50:08 - What Good Quail Cover Actually Looks Like
53:02 - Shrubby Escape Cover and the 10-20% Rule
54:16 - Eastern Red Cedar and When Woody Cover Helps
59:36 - Predators, Raccoons, and Why Grasslands Win

Resources & Links:
Land and Legacy: https://landandlegacy.tv/
Kyle Hedges: https://landandlegacy.tv/about/
Frank Loncarich: https://landandlegacy.tv/about/
How to conduct a prescribed burn for upland bird habitat (Project Upland): https://projectupland.com/hunting-conservation/how-to-conduct-a-prescribed-burn-for-upland-bird-habitat/

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