ROBY – The Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch will host its second annual field day from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sept. 25. The research ranch is located 11 miles west of Roby on U.S. Highway 180.
The field day is open to anyone interested in quail management.
There will be three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units available for private applicator license holders.
“We’ve had a busy year,” said Dr. Dale Rollins, Texas AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist at San Angelo and the ranch’s director. “We’ve developed some productive collaborations with other scientists around the state to study quail happenings and related processes.”
Rollins said the ranch was created in 2007 with a mission “to sustain Texas’ wild quail hunting heritage for this and future generations.” He said the 4,700 acre property is the only research station in the U.S. dedicated solely to quail conservation.
Ongoing projects include bobwhite survival and nesting ecology, census techniques, predator ecology and habitat dynamics. New projects include a supplemental quail feeding program and control of pricklypear using prescribed burns during the summer.
“We also have started an interesting study of GPS-collared raccoons and coyotes to see how they search the landscape during the nesting season,” Rollins said.
“Along with the work at Roby, we’ve started two off-site studies,” he said. “One involves an eastern Rolling Plains site where quail populations have plummeted in the last decade and the other is a Permian Basin study evaluating blue-quail dynamics.”
Field day sponsors include the Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation, Park Cities Quail Unlimited, Texas AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension.
In case of inclement weather, the program will move to the Roby Community Center.
Individual pre-registration is $10 by Sept. 22 and $20 thereafter. The fee includes a catered lunch.
To pre-register contact Rachel Vega at 325-653-4576 or rrvega@ag.tamu.edu .
For more information, contact Rollins at 325-653-4576 or d-rollins@tamu.edu .
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