In January 2018, after the burn pictured below, Sims and I were making one last circle of a 1,300 acre burn about 20 minutes before sundown. (With the help of NRCS’s EQIP program, a 500-foot strip cleared of volatile fuels on the downwind side of the burn had been put in a few years prior to the burn. 8 people were able to complete the entire burn, black line included, in one day. First torch was lit at 10:00 AM, final head fire was set at 3:00 PM. Note we were not in a hurry and used proper protocol of burn initiation, but the cleared area makes burns much safer and allows for fewer personnel to move quickly and efficiently.)

OK, back to the story. Sims and I were on the north side of the burn entering a wide draw area. To our surprise both Blue and Bobwhite quail were entering the burned area by the hundreds. (Perhaps thousands, but I’ll stay with the hundreds) Covey after covey were flying in front of and over us, landing in the burned area-indiscriminate of species- scurrying about on the burned ground. In wonderment we stopped momentarily and observed what was taking place. Sims noted that he had seen small beetles moving about on the burned ground earlier in the day, possibly disrupted from their winter homes in the ground. Perhaps the birds were in a feeding frenzy? (Sorry, we took no pictures of the event and moved on quickly to finish our task of being sure the burn was safe prior to dark.) Looking back on what we saw and after talking with others more familiar with quail, we-perhaps, witnessed an event that few have the opportunity to see. The question I have is how did the quail-both Bobs and Blues- know to return to the burned area so soon after the fire? Did a few venture into the burned area and find the food source to be exceptionally good, then return to the displaced coveys and say “Hey guys you will never believe what I have found, let’s go get ‘em”? Some might say it was “instinct”, a trait bred into the birds after centuries of living in a fire culture. I don’t know, but it was a sight to behold and I wish a trained quail man had been there to talk us through the event.

After contemplating on this viewed event, I have developed a theory of my own. (Keep in mind this is just a theory from an untrained eye and I welcome thought from others.) The burn was done is several stages, even to the point of having 6 head fire ignitions. (As a general rule we prefer to ignite a single head fire to achieve the intensity of fire that is most beneficial to suppressing both cedar and prickly pear, however this burn had several well-traveled roads running through it and we were dealing with less that preferred quantities of fine fuel. -Grass- Overall, we were satisfied with this tactic. One must keep in mind that no two prescribed burns are alike, the fire boss must always be considering the conditions of each burn on an individual basis.)

Back to my theory, with each head fire initiation the fire moved the quail away from that fire, putting them into the area not burned. Each time we burned a new area the quail were concentrated that much more. Finally, when we burned the last head fire area the quail were moved into the draw on the north side of the burn. In effect we unwittingly ‘gathered’ the quail, somewhat like one would gather a pasture of livestock. Sims and I happened to pass by that area at the precise time the quail began to move back to their home territory. (I am told quail spend their lives within a very few acres and I don’t doubt their homing instinct is every bit as strong as most other ‘critters’ in natures domain.) On their way home, they discovered the ‘windfall’ of insects that had been displaced due to the burn. Of course, the reader of this must accept that my imagination can ‘get away with itself’ at times.

The pear shown here is ‘wounded’ at best, but it is a start and with grass density increasing after the burn, good grazing management following in subsequent years, perhaps it is on the way out. In particular with a ‘follow-up’ burn in a few years. (True a treatment with chemicals would do away with the pear issue quickly, but that is not an option as the owner of the property is unwilling to make that kind of investment. Natural control is the current policy.) We had some excellent cedar flaring in other areas of the burn, of course it was Red Berry, so it is suppressed not killed.

The next post will illude to conditions four years later.