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Bobwhite resurgence



Just a note on the quails - This is one of my childhood birds, always
there, when I was growing up in SW Florida.  We did have the advantage
of a 160-acre ranch; extended family members came just to hunt quail
with my dad and my brothers (and occasionally with me, but I was young
and just thought they tasted a heck of a lot better than dove).  Anyway,
just like the flintheads (wood storks) that Dad remembered as being
plentiful, the quail almost disappeared.  Not only from SW Florida, but
apparently from most of the southeast US.  However, in the three years
that we have lived in Person County, NC, I am tickled to say that the
past two years have seen a bobwhite resurgence in our area.  Last year
the calls came from all around us, and I got to see a family traipsing
through the backyard.  At a Soil and Water Conservation meeting last
year, a Quail Unlimited rep gave a glowing report of increased
populations, due presumably to increased "no-till" farming and local
farmers working in conjunction with QU and the Soil and Water
conservation reps to provide increased habitat with less insecticide
use.  Something's working.  We hear the quail calling every morning and
evening now, and I accidently flushed two in the yard when I was walking
toward the woods to get a  good look at a calling summer tanager.  Maybe
this summer I'll have the good luck to see a mom leading a line of furry
chicks along the edge of the yard again.  Regardless, it's really neat
to sit on the back porch and ID the summer's calls - including the
unmistakable "bob-WHITE!"

Sherri Carpenter
Roxboro, NC