Mississippi’s 2013 Quail Season Opens Thanksgiving Day

Mississippi’s statewide bobwhite quail hunting season will open November 28, 2013 and close March 1, 2014.  The daily bag limit is eight quail.  Several public lands around the state offer quail hunting opportunities, but hunters should be prepared to put in some time to find birds.  “Some of the best places to find quail during the hunting season are in or near thicker cover patches or edges associated with fields and upland forests with grassy ground cover.  Our summer population estimates varied considerably, but many areas surveyed were stable or slightly increasing,” said Dave Godwin, Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) Small Game Program Coordinator.  “We also had many positive reports of brood sightings in areas of suitable habitat which indicates good reproduction this summer.”

“We need suitable quail habitat at larger scales to achieve sustainable hunting opportunities.  Habitat improvements are increasing in some localized areas, and we continue to monitor response and promote adding habitat in those areas,” said Rick Hamrick, MDWFP Small Game Biologist.  “This often involves encouraging landowners within a local community to promote management practices among their neighbors to increase the scale of suitable habitat available to quail.”

For more information regarding quail hunting and management in Mississippi, visit our website at www.mdwfp.com/quail or call us at (601) 432-2199. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mdwfp or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDWFPonline.

Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries and Parks

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), formerly known as the Mississippi Game & Fish Commission, is an agency of the government of the U.S. state ofMississippi responsible for programs protecting Mississippi fish and wildlife resources and their habitats, as well as administering all state parks; it has its headquarters in Jackson. The agency issues hunting and fishing licenses, advises on habitat protection, and sponsors public education programs. It is also responsible for enforcement of Mississippi's fish and game laws. It is separate from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, which is the governing body for the state's natural salt-water resources and law enforcement thereof (i.e. Gulf of Mexico, ocean-going vessels, etc.).