Hunting mortality and overwinter survival of northern bobwhites relative to food plots in Kansas

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have been declining significantly throughout much of their North American range. Food plots are a management tool that might alleviate the bobwhite's winter stress, improving population sustainability, but their positive effect could be negated by increased hunter harvests near food plots. Food plots have been used to increase available winter food sources for northern bobwhites oil the Fort Riley Military Reservation since the early 1960s, We hypothesized that food plots increased hunting mortality of bobwhites by concentrating hunters and bobwhites around food plots. We monitored 554 radiomarked bobwhites during the 1994-1995, 1995-1996, and 1996-1997 winters to estimate Survival and cause-specific mortality near and far from food plots. Effect of hunting mortality near food plot.,, was weak and inconsistent. Feeding in food plots by nontarget wildlife compromised the comparison of overwinter survival of bobwhites near and far from food plots during A years and study sites. Avian and mammalian predators accounted for 55% of overwinter mortality of radiomarked bobwhites during the study. We provide recommendations to reduce mortality and increase survival of bobwhites on Fort Riley during winter. These strategies might apply to other bobwhite populations in North America.