Caught in yard

Good observations...I too have tried to figure out what has happened to the quail...easy to figure here my area...loss of habitat is the main reason...

But down in the freer area I have seen years where quail are everywhere and then gone...so I really don’t know what happens but I develop theories as to what could be happening...I have thought it to be fire ants to an extent but think mainly rats for two reasons...the first is they eat baby quail and probably mature quail if given the opportunity.... I also have thought that most of the time most folks will kill a rattlesnake anytime they see one and then we have the rattlesnake roundups so a reduced number of snakes makes logical sense that rat population goes up and quail population goes down...I am not saying that is the reason just trying to figure out what is really causing the issues...

Back as a kid we had lots of trouble with rats eating our baby chicks...what they liked more than anything was to kill them for their food pouches predigested food which was mainly Purinas baby chicken feed...

Reason #2...rats love grain so any wild grain and seed...the rats are competing with the quail on food grain supplies...thus less quail...again my personal theories without any real facts to back it up...