P.J. Perea/NWTF

Once a common sight in fields and hedgerows, the Northern bobwhite quail population has declined more than 65 percent over the last two decades.

On the Road to Recovery

Northern Bobwhite Quail

In the span of a mere generation, the Northern bobwhite quail has largely disappeared from the landscape. Once a common sight in fields and hedgerows, their population has declined more than 65 percent over the last two decades.

The downward spiral of quail numbers wasn’t due to something as sinister as poaching or rampant urbanization; it was habitat loss in slow motion. Wild areas lost out to farming and forestry; open grasslands slowly grew into forests; exotic grasses and plants invaded pastures. Of course, urban sprawl has crept into rural areas, as well.

Bit by bit the quail’s habitat disappeared.

So, who’s pressing the pause button?

The NWTF has spent more than $2.5 million across the quail’s range on projects that create or maintain early successional habitat where quail, turkeys, and myriad other species thrive.

In Praise of Longleaf Pine

In 2007, the NWTF received a $1.1 million grant funded by Southern Company to restore longleaf pine habitat on more than 7,000 acres of public and private lands in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. By 2010, more than 4,000 acres of longleaf pine will be restored in Georgia alone.

Wildfires ravaged Dixon Memorial Forest in the southeast part of the state three years ago, but it has since been replanted with longleaf pines. Establishment of this pine species, which is highly resistant to fire, allows more frequent prescribed burns. Prescribed burning reduces the hazardous buildup of wildfire fuels, and helps improve habitat for quail.

Fort Stewart and Fort Benning, some of largest tracts of quality quail habitat in Georgia, also have been reforested in longleaf pines.

In the future, the NWTF wants to expand these projects to include restoring native grasses and forbs.

The wild turkey’s bad rap

Let’s debunk the myth that turkeys eat quail and are responsible for their decline. Habitat improvements for wild turkeys also benefit Northern bobwhite quail, helping them on their road to recovery.

Greater Good

Georgia’s Oconee National Forest and Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge have seen improved forests on 3,000 acres, thanks to a $139,000 Corridor of Flight grant. The original purpose of the grant was to improve habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, but, in turn, it also has benefited wild turkey and quail.

Thinning overgrown timber stands not only improves overall forest health, but also allows sunlight to reach the forest floor, stimulating plant growth and creating brood-rearing habitat for ground nesting birds. Establishment of native plants also improves the quality and diversity of cover and food sources.

Installing firebreaks also allows refuge and national forest personnel to do smaller, patchy prescribed burns to stimulate native plant growth and control invasive hardwood.

The sunlight that shines through wildlife openings encourages diverse plant growth, which is vital to quail and variety of other feathered species. — Lynn Lewis-Weis and Mark Hatfield

FYI > Attention birdwatchers. Many quail management practices also benefit several songbird species, such as Bell’s vireo, orchard oriole, painted bunting, loggerhead shrike, sedge wren, grasshopper sparrow, dickcissel and Henslow’s sparrow.