Calling Quail... whistling them up.

Calling quail falls under one of those... you can't believe it until you see it done. I learned how to do it years ago when in college at then Texas A&I University in Kingsville Tx. Nixon Dillard a good friend and then roommate brought it up one evening while a bunch of us were talking. He told of an old Mexican American man in Pearsall Tx. who could whistle up quail. We laughed and didn't believe him. I finally asked him to make the whistling sound, he said he couldn't but described how it sounded. Later we loaded up in one of our vehicles and out to the King Ranch Loop Road we went. Needless to say the rest is history. Three quail hunters from Jackson Mississippi watched with their eyes wide and their mouths open years ago while I demonstrated it to them. At the end of the calling I asked what they thought of what they had seen. The hunter seated next to me in the Chevy Blazer asked, "Can everyone in Texas call quail"? I answered, "No", he said, "It's a good thing because there wouldn't be any quail in Texas if they did". I've demonstrated and taught many how to do it since. Some now are better at it than me. One of my fondest memories was demonstrating it to Louis and Joyce Turcotte, parents of Katie May at the urging of Leonard and Katie May. Louis had been foreman of the vast Kenedy Ranch in Kenedy Co. Tx. He had forgotten things about wildlife at the time I was just learning. He was a great guy and enjoyed telling us tales. Anyway, maybe these pictures will help you see their reaction to the call.