The Pennsylvania Game Commission is planning on hiring a new bobwhite quail biologist, they’re working to create more than 3,200 acres of habitat and by 2023 the first of 800 birds will be released in the state.
When it comes to the diminutive game bird, the agency has big plans.
Northern bobwhite quail are believed to be extirpated in Pennsylvania, and the PGC is laying the groundwork to see if the birds can be successfully reintroduced on a Bobwhite Quail Focus Area at the Letterkenny Army Depot in Franklin County.
Currently, the agency is working to transform 3,357 acres at the depot into quail habitat. In 2023, the PGC plans to bring in quail from other states and release them on the Letterkenny property, totaling 800 quail over a three-year period. After that, agency personnel will monitor the quail to determine if they are surviving and reproducing, and then, if successful, the program could expand.
But it all begins with the habitat.
According to Ken Duren, game section supervisor for the game commission, the habitat need for wild quail differs a bit from the work that was done to establish Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas in the state. Pheasants do better in tall, thick grass, Duren said, while quail prefer stands of less dense grass intermixed with a shrub-type habitat of raspberry or native dogwood.
“Rabbits and quail have similar habitat preferences,” Duren said. “They need the shrub cover to protect them during heavy snow and predators in the winter.”
While the habitat is being created, the agency is working with other states to capture quail for the re-introduction phase. Duren said it hasn’t been determined which states will provide the quail, but it has to be from an area where numbers are strong. States in the south and Midwest are showing the most promise based on population trends over the last five years, he added.
The captured quail will consist of an equal mix of males and females, but the entire allotment won’t be secured all at once.
“It will occur over a period of three years because it’s a lot of quail to capture,” Duren said.
The new bobwhite biologist will coordinate efforts to trap quail in other states for reintroduction at Letterkenny. The position isn’t new and was previously held by Tom Keller, who is now a wildlife research biologist.
After the quail are released, they’ll be monitored for a 10-year period in a variety of ways. Some will be fitted with transmitters, Duren said, and the agency will be assisted by graduate students to track the birds. Staff will also tour the Letterkenny site in the summer to listen for males whistling and, similar to the wild pheasant monitoring, flushing surveys will be conducted.
“In the west they form coveys and do a covey call. We’ll monitor that,” Duren said. “We want to know how many birds are in a covey, however, so we’ll do flushing surveys to count them.”
But Duren said habitat is the key if the program is going to be a success. Much of the suitable habitat for bobwhites has been lost in the state, which is the main reason why are believed to be extirpated, he added.
While the Letterkenny site is expansive, the agency will work with neighboring landowners to create additional habitat so the quail can expand their range. There’s also a possibility the program could expand to other parts of the state in the future.
“That’s definitely the hope,” Duren said. “We’ll look at other game lands and talk with private landowners. To see expansion beyond Letterkenny, it really hinges on cooperation with private landowners.”
He acknowledged that quail are susceptible to high rates of predation, but with the proper habitat they can rebound quickly. It also helps that quail are prolific breeders and can build their numbers up that way as well.
“We really want to make sure the populations are increasing at Letterkenny before considering moving the program into other areas. One limiting factor is Pennsylvania is on the northern range for quail, which don’t do well in heavy snow. Any expansion will probably take place in the southern part of the state,” Duren said.
If the population does increase and warrants expansion of the program, it could eventually lead to hunting opportunities for quail, which are native to Pennsylvania.
But if hunting isn’t feasible, that doesn’t mean the program isn’t a success.
“We would love to see huntable populations, but the minimum level goal is a viable population,” Duren said. “People love quail and they’re a part of the old farm landscape in Pennsylvania. People do remember when they were here and they miss hearing the call in the summer. It would be something to have a wild quail population again in the state.”
- This story originally appeared in PA Outdoor News
- Photo credit: Missouri Department of Conservation
