Bobwhite Reintroduction!

[Mike of the Mountain]

Here in PA our Game Commission released wild trapped bobs back into PA. Bobs have pretty much been extirpated here since the 80s-90s. Bobs were wild trapped in VA, KY and FL. In total there will be 100 released in the Chambersburg area on Letterkenny Army Depot this year. More bobs to come. The majority also has transmitters placed on them to track their movements and survival. At one time we had bobs in every county of the state. Kudos to our PGC for proceeding with this plan.

[J. A. EARLY]

Don't know why they would trap wild ones in Virginia. I think they trapped the last ones. Send them back!

[ahfoxman]

Good Morning Mike and followers,

They should check out the Pine Barron's and below in Jersey to see if any Jersey Bob's have survived. Hunted them before, after, and while stationed on Macquire AFB, and they were at least 50% larger than the ones here in Pa. and W. Va. back then. I also hunted the Barron's for grouse, but I understand they are now long gone, Sad! I had/have a Savage 20ga 28" Ejector Sterlingworth that was choked tighter than a frog's butt, (and that's H20 proof) that I kept locked in the office at maintenance shop. Wow, try that today. I used to hunt with the Sarge and most times it was in his trailer out in Browns Mills. I hope our memories are connected to our soul, if so, then I will have lots to keep me entertained in the hereafter. The last wild quail here in Eastern Pa. were along the RR on/in the old abandoned farms behind the tank farms, friends have told me that they survived into the 90s out in your area?? I used to run/train the dogs without shooting them towards the end, which was back in the 70s. Enough BS for now, Take Care, and All the Best to Everyone. Remember, Life is Good, Treat it with Respect! Tom

[John Davis]

Originally Posted by Jerry Harlow

Don't know why they would trap wild ones in Virginia. I think they trapped the last ones. Send them back!

Glad they didn’t take any Georgia bob whites. We ain’t got any to spare.

[mobirdhunter]

Good luck with your State’s quail reintroduction. We spent years and traded wild turkeys for grouse here in Missouri only to have the Conservation Department abandon its habitat management in our area (I believe because hunters found them too hard to hunt). There are still grouse along the Missouri River, but not enough to support hunting. Unless there’s a landscape level habitat management plan, chances of survival are slim.

But there’s nothing quite like hunting wild Bobs in your own backyard!

[ArtS]

Originally Posted by Jerry Harlow

Don't know why they would trap wild ones in Virginia. I think they trapped the last ones. Send them back!

I too am surprised. Quail, in my mind, are an endagered species in Kentucky.
When I ws young, they were everywhere and could be hunted without a dog. They fell prey to modern farming practices and are very hard to even see now. If you have a covey of any kind it is a miracle.

Kentucky has been a part of several reintroduction programs which have been amazingly successful. The two recent(?) ones were wild turkey and elk.

The turkeys were largely due to a trade with Missouri; turkeys for river otter. We went from no turkey to flocks so large they feed and roost in our back yard. This was aided by the fact that we have vast areas of agriculture bordered by heavily masted woodlands.

Elk have been reintroduced over the last several years to former areas of reclaimed strip mines surrounded by native woodlands and low human populations. It has been so successful that very successful hunting seasons allow even out of state tags (too many due to state quest for revenue) and a significant tourist flow. Many don't realize that elk are actually a plains animal that took to the mountains due to human pressure. The "deer" that were a big draw to native americans and the pioneers were actually elk to a large extent. The reintroduction was truly that. In the same way, it was successful due to habitat shifts which mirrored their former condition. Deer were formerly plentiful but by the early 60's had all but disappeared over most of the state. While not introduced, they gradually repopulated themselves from southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to the point that they are almost a nuisance.

Don't hold out much hope on a system of release to have much affect. Habitat management is the only thing that will work. Quail require food, water and shelter within a home radius which is, I believe, the smallest of any of the game birds. Unless the habitat exists, there is little chance of success. Nature is resilient. If the habitat is provided, then a small reintroduction can have a big effect.

[john pulis]

NY CEED, quail project, reintroduced close to 500 pen hatched BW on Long Island last year in various NYS Parks from western Nassau Cnty, near NYC, out to both the North and South forks. MY wife and I were walking along one the greenbelts last Fall, and lo and behold I heard that call, “Bob White, Bob White.” I stopped mid step and said, did you hear that. We have to walk again this Spring with our ears ready and hope for the best. Suburban sprawl has all but eliminated habitat.

[Dylan Rhodes]

I think over the course of training my two dogs I "released" 200 into the Mercer County area myself. I never could get them to recall properly, a bird or two every now and then would come back to the pen. They stuck around my hunting locale on the property for a couple years. I would hear them chirping while turkey scouting or during turkey season. Not sure if they all just died off or were eaten, but 4 years later no evidence of them remains. Good habitat too - had my hopes up after hearing them still around after 1 year.

[George "Scott" Davis]

Eastern New Mexico (Carlsbad) for years was a winter field trail area and bobwhites were used. Today we have a thriving small populations of bobwhites which escaped the trails. They've adapted and surviving in terrain which looks nothing like the Midwest or South.
We found then in canyon filled with scrub oaks bushes which are 12-14 inch tall (produce a abundance of very small acorns) and are filled with Goat Heads/Texas Tacks which are terrible for your dogs pads. Dog boots are required!!!!!!!
I'm always amazed how some animals adapt and survive. I'm from central Illinois originally and family is sharing they are now seeing then after many years of nothing.

[Joe Graziano]

Tom,

I loved reading your post. I grew up in Toms River in the 1980s. My father and I used to hunt wild quail in an old county park in Ocean County. No one I’ve told has ever heard of wild NJ quail! We didn’t know they existed until stumbling on them while rabbit hunting. Yours is the only other post I’ve ever read about someone else hunting quail in NJ. They were indeed big, and also plentiful where we hunted. I never saw another hunter back there other than our family and friends. Most of the time, we hunted stocked birds, pheasant and quail, at Colliers Mills. Brings back such memories.

Thanks and God bless!

Joe