Dr. Jeff Lusk, upland game program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, is headquartered in Lincoln. “We don’t have the figures on hunters and numbers of birds taken for last year as yet,” he offered. “During the ‘05-’06 season, we had 28,978 hunters who reported hunting quail. Looking at a four-year average, we can come up with 30,013 hunters per year. The kill for the ‘05-’06 season was 133,907, the four-year average 149,146.

“We did find that the quail breeding index was lower this past spring than it was in 2006. This can have a positive effect on production, however. It reduces the competition with other quail and results in more chicks per brood. We had warm spring weather, which was also a plus for the broods, but we did have quite a bit of rain, and that could have negated some of the benefits of the warmer temperatures.

“In thinking about two keys to improve quail numbers, I am reminded of a metaphor my advisor in grad school used,” Lusk continued. “He suggested that instead of remodeling the houses of the quail we already have, we should be building more houses. In other words, instead of improving existing habitat we need to be creating more.”

According to Lusk, the summer mail-carrier count showed slight increases in quail numbers in the Northeast, East Central and Republican quail management units. The Southeast unit was down slightly from last year.

Don Bergmeyer, a 60-year-old retired computer technician from Lincoln, bought his first bird dog in 1970. He has two over-and-unders -- one a 12 gauge, the other a 20. Both are bored skeet and improved cylinder.

“My hunting last year was better than it has been for the past eight years,” he said. “I hunt over Vizslas, and do most of my hunting in the lower-central part of the state, as well as the southeast,” he said. “I like hunting in the late season. The hunting pressure is down, and even though the birds may be a little spookier, I like a little cold weather and some snow -- it makes for a good day of hunting.”

The season closes on Jan. 31. The bag limit is six daily, with 24 in possession.