The Presence and Abundance of Stubble Quail (Coturnix pectoralis) across South Australia

2021 Harvest Report

By Matthew Godson, Wildlife Biologist, SSAA National

Abstract

Stubble quail were found and counted across several regions in South Australia (SA) in November and December 2021. A total of 124 private properties were surveyed during harvest and by volunteers conducting drive counts. A total of 17,194 individual birds were counted over a sample area covering 11,828 hectares. An average state-wide density of 1.28 quail per hectare was found. Comparing this estimated density to the area size of habitat used by the species across the state’s agricultural regions, projections suggest that the stubble quail population is large and ranges between 6,274,351– 17,677,712 individuals (x̄=11,976,032; 95%CI). With hunter bag surveys indicating a recreational quail hunting state-wide harvest of approximately 5,091 individuals per year, it is clear that quail hunting has an insignificant impact on state-wide quail populations and poses no risk to their existence. The state-wide harvest represented 0.04% of the estimated population, which is vanishingly small compared with internationally accepted harvest rates of 10-20% of the population.