Kansas Kept 89% of Its Same-Route June Bobwhite Count Since 1966-75, South Carolina 5%

IJune Count Leaders

Kansas and Oklahoma Lead Today's June Bobwhite Counts

The North American Breeding Bird Survey supplies the counts, with observers stopping along fixed roadside routes in June to count every bird they see or hear. Here bobwhites per route means the average count from one run of a route made to survey standards.

Kansas dropped only from 35.9 to 31.8 bobwhites per route on those same 33 routes. Oklahoma's count has fallen from 50.2. Texas ranks third with 13.1 on 87 routes after falling from 46.3. Missouri averages 11.5 and Nebraska 11.1, with every other state in the comparison below 8. Nebraska held the largest share in the long-run table at 90%, though it began at only 12.4 birds per route. States such as North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee now average about 3 bobwhites per route or fewer in June.

IIThe Recent Decade

Kansas Held Up Best While Texas Fell Behind Nebraska and Missouri

Because the long comparison covers six decades we also looked at what happened in the last ten years. The average on the 2,661 U.S. routes run in both 2016-20 and 2021-25 dropped 21%, from 3.97 bobwhites per route to 3.14. The 2016-20 half includes four survey years because no routes were run in 2020.

Kansas kept the largest share among the five leaders. It fell from 29.0 to 26.7 on 48 routes and held onto 92%. Oklahoma held onto 75% as its count fell from 29.3 to 22.0 on 36 routes. Texas dropped from 16.0 to 9.9 on 174 routes and fell to fifth in 2021-25, trailing Nebraska at 10.8 and Missouri at 10.4. Nebraska, Missouri and Texas stay in that order when every 2021-25 run is counted with the route set left open. On each state's routes run in both 2016-20 and 2021-25 Georgia kept 94% at 8.3 per route and South Carolina 96% at 2.3. Among the 25 states 18 dropped and four rose. Florida, Indiana, Virginia and Louisiana were the four that rose and all started with low counts.

IIIMatched Route Check

Keeping Routes Fixed Moves Kansas From 77% to 89%

The survey has expanded a lot since the 1960s. Observers surveyed 1,842 U.S. routes in 1966-75 and 3,214 in 2016-25. An average over every run combines old ground with new, so we used only the 1,327 routes run to survey standards at least once in each decade. Within each decade we averaged each route and then averaged those routes in each state.

With those routes fixed the U.S. average dropped from 19.0 bobwhites per route to 3.9, down 79%. Using every run gives 20.58 against 3.46, leaving the national picture nearly the same. For Kansas the picture changes. When every run is counted it fell from 38.4 to 29.5 and kept 77%, compared with 89% on its fixed routes. Kansas leads in bobwhites per route in 2016-25 either way.

IVSouthern Count Drops

Mississippi Fell From 60.9 per Route to 2.8

Some states that once had the highest counts now have among the lowest. Mississippi routes averaged 60.9 bobwhites in 1966-75, which was the table's highest early count. Their average was 2.8 in 2016-25. South Carolina fell from 53.5 to 2.7 and Alabama from 49.4 to 2.7. Missouri fell from 52.5 to 11.5 and Georgia from 44.8 to 7.7. Illinois dropped from 35.9 to 6.5 and Kentucky from 40.0 to 6.4. Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and West Virginia all had averages of 0.0 bobwhites per route on the old routes in 2016-25.

The share of runs that counted at least one bobwhite helps make sense of those averages. On the fixed U.S. routes that share dropped from 55% of runs to 29%. Kansas saw it rise from 93% to 97%. In South Carolina observers still heard at least one bobwhite on 72% of runs in 2016-25 along their 12 routes, though the average was 2.7 birds. In Ohio and Maryland just 14% and 20% of runs counted one.

The count has moved west too. Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas had 25.1% of all bobwhites counted on U.S. routes in 1966-75 and 47.6% in 2016-25. Those shares reflect route numbers as well as bird numbers, and Texas has more routes than any other state.

VCounts Along Roads

A June Roadside Index That Does Not Explain Causes

These June roadside counts cover birds seen and heard, with whistling males making up most of the bobwhites. That makes this a breeding bird index that tells us nothing direct about fall populations or covey counts. Each state's figure averages its routes, which follow roads instead of the best quail cover.

Fixing the routes keeps the same ground in both periods but leaves out many newer routes. The counts do not separate pen-raised releases and translocated birds from wild birds. The long-run state table excludes states whose routes averaged fewer than 5 bobwhites per route in 1966-75 and states with fewer than 8 routes run in both decades. No routes ran in 2020.

These numbers do not explain why Kansas kept most of its count while Mississippi did not. These counts show where bobwhites held on and where they faded, but they cannot test the causes hunters debate.

VIQuail Trip Choices

Begin With Kansas or Oklahoma

Our read is to begin a bobwhite trip in Kansas or Oklahoma, the leaders in the June count on long-running routes and again in 2021-25. Kansas held onto 92% of its count from 2016-20 to 2021-25 as Texas dropped to fifth, so read the latest Texas quail reports before planning around it. Nebraska and Missouri now average more per route than Texas and deserve a look. East of the Mississippi the June counts are low enough to make a quail trip there a gamble based on these numbers alone.