2021 Quail Hunting Forecast

Quail Forever provides the state's official annual quail hunting forecast, combining field data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources with habitat analysis to give hunters accurate population trends and hunting guidance.

• •Season Dates: October 15 – December 7, 2016
• •Daily Bag Limit: 3 birds
• •Possession Limit: 9 birds (three times the bag limit)

According to assistant upland wildlife ecologist Krista Pham, Wisconsin's bobwhite quail population shows a significant long-term decline. The 2015 whistling males survey registered only a slight increase (0.016 males per route, up from 0.015 in 2013), masking broader habitat loss across southern and western Wisconsin.

"Due to a long-term loss of appropriate habitat, coupled with occasional severe winter weather during the past several years, quail are unevenly distributed at very low densities across their former range in Wisconsin."

The 2015-16 winter brought above-average temperatures and below-average snowfall, resulting in early spring green-up. Summer 2016 saw above-average temperatures (1-2 degrees above normal June-August) and above-average precipitation. However, several severe rain events during mid and late brood-rearing season likely caused chick loss in affected areas.

Pham advises hunters to focus on areas with significant grassland interspersed with dense winter cover—the specific habitat types quail need to survive Wisconsin winters and raise broods.