Fescue, bushhogs and trees. If we cut down 80% of the timber, got rid of 90% of the bushhogs and eradicated fescue the quail would come back. That was the world of the 1870's to 1940's in the South. That world isn't coming back.
Of this list,
I would consider the introduction of fescue as the #1 longtime reason for quail numbers to have initially declined, on a generally speaking statewide basis. Johnson grass isn't far behind fescue as a significant reason, as both these invasive grasses have displaced most of the native TN grasses for which quail were adapted.
But in some areas the #1 reason may have been pesticides & herbicides, and/or a loss of good contiguous quail habitat, all of which has made it easier for various predators to kill quail, as a domino effect of steady population decline.
But there have been many instances (over the past couple decades) where large acreage contiguous habitat has been created ideally for quail, i.e no fescue, no Johnson grass, no farm chemicals,
YET, there has still been a massive "failure to thrive" with the quail. Add to this the quail being highly protected in terms of not being hunted by human hunters.
In fact, compared to times past, on a statewide basis, there is relatively zero quail hunting occurring now in TN. In the 1950's & 60's, almost seemed like every other home, even in towns, had a "bird" dog, typically a "Pointer" or a "Setter", and their owners actually hunted & killed quail annually with those dogs.
Strange as it may sound, human hunting has had almost nothing to do with the long-term downward spiral of TN's quail since the 1960's. Less quail every decade, and we're now left with a tiny remnant population bordering on extinction in many areas.
That said, there is one detriment to quail that has simultaneously increased in population every decade in TN, almost in lock-step to the quail's steady decrease in population. The number of raptor predators preying on birds (all birds, not just quail) has skyrocketed in TN, as well as most of the Southeastern U.S. The specific raptors likely most responsible for preying on quail have been small hawks, like the Coopers, as well as owls.
Of course, it's not just the hawks & owls preying on quail, as coyotes & bobcats also get them. I don't believe coyotes kill as much "game" as most think, but they do kill some, do break up some nests. Coyotes are just one more thing to add to the list of items preventing quail from thriving as they did prior to the 1960's (when coyotes didn't exist in TN, and when hawks were relatively rare).
