Our rain gauge registered 13.4″ (YTD) on 1 Oct. Over the next three weeks we almost doubled our YTD rainfall (we rec’d approx. 10″ during Oct). Many have pondered “will the bountiful rains stimulate a good late-season hatch?” My opinion is “no”; we will undoubtedly see some late hatches but IMO they won’t “pull our fat from the fire.” I hope I’m mistaken. By contrast, areas in south Texas have a better chance to witness a late-summer resurrection. Even if we had some late-broods on the ground, I’m worried that the sustained cold, wet weather experienced this past month may have proved a death knell for young quail (e.g., < 6 weeks old). A juvenile quail needs to be fully-feathered (about 8 weeks of age) in order to properly “thermoregulate” during such cold spells. The three chicks pictured here are perhaps 5 weeks old.
