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Survey results for the 1999-2000 hunting season show Horry, Sumter, Florence, Darlington and Saluda counties were the top five counties for quail, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, while the top six counties for rabbits jumped per hour were Greenwood, Edgefield, Newberry, Chester, McCormick and Saluda.
Results were recently compiled from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) small game surveys, revealing a statewide decrease in the number of quail coveys flushed per hour and an increase in the number of rabbits jumped per hour. Quail hunters in the top five counties reported flushing an average of 1.3 to 0.5 coveys per hour. The statewide quail covey flush rate was 0.42 coveys/hour during the 1999-2000 season, down from 0.59 coveys/hour the previous year. The rabbit-jumping rate increased from 1.71 to 1.75 during the 1999-2000 season.
The northern coastal plain, defined as a seven-county area from the Charleston-Georgetown county line north to the North Carolina line and inland to Dillon, Florence, and Clarendon counties, claimed the highest rates of quail finds. Piedmont quail hunters had significantly less success than those hunting in other regions of the state, said Billy Dukes, DNR Small Game Project supervisor.
The 1999-2000 Rabbit Hunter Survey shows an increase in rabbits over the last two years. A majority of rabbit hunting (77.4 percent) occurred in the Piedmont. The Piedmont also exhibited the greatest number of rabbits jumped per hour (1.82), among regions with a minimum of 25 hunts, said Judy Barnes, wildlife biologist with the DNR Small Game Project.
Written comments from hunters in the survey provided some excellent field observations, particularly on food items of quail. The preferred foods reported for quail were soybeans, bicolor lespedeza, sorghum, green vegetation, partridge pea, pine seed and acorns. Other food items such as corn, insects, sweet gum seed and wheat were also reported.
Both quail and rabbit hunters expressed a desire to have more money spent on habitat management for small game on public lands, Dukes said. Quail hunters were concerned that large blocks of private lands were being leased to deer hunting clubs, while rabbit hunters were more concerned with the increasing deer numbers and the difficulty of keeping rabbit hounds from running deer. Other hunters reported that quality small game habitats are being lost to government tree planting programs and that increasing predator populations are negatively impacting quail and rabbit numbers.
Through intensive field observations, South Carolina quail and rabbit hunters maintained detailed records of their hunting excursions throughout the year and provided the data to the DNR Small Game Project for analysis, said Dukes. Hunting data compiled included the number of quail coveys flushed, covey size, number of rabbits jumped, the dates and counties where hunts occurred, and the amount of time expended in pursuit of these species. The S.C. State Committee of Quail Unlimited assists with funding for the supplies and mailing necessary to conduct the surveys.
"To ensure continued accuracy and usefulness of future small game surveys, the DNR would like to increase the number of hunters participating this coming season," Dukes said. Avid quail and rabbit hunters across the state who are willing to assist by taking careful notes on their hunts should write to DNR Small Game Project, PO Box 167, Columbia, SC 29202. Indicate whether you are interested in participating in the Quail Hunter Survey, the Rabbit Hunter Survey, or both. Survey materials will be mailed to cooperators in mid-November, just prior to the opening of statewide quail and rabbit seasons
Uploaded: 9/8/2000
Uploaded: 9/8/2000