NJ Quail Article

Interesting article. I hope the southern quail can handle the cold winters NJ can get. Keep us all informed of the progress of this if you hear anything.
 
I wish they were transplanting quail from a colder climate. There are many involved with the Pa. Quail Project that believe when Pa. brought in quail from the southern states it reduced the hardiness of our birds. Unlike Pa. however, New Jersey still has some wild birds, but this winter sure isn't helping any.

How about a wild captive breeding program!
 
Killer is ice! and snow they can bust down to food. Lots of deep brush piles, hardy stand up cover, like shatter cane, ( a one-off variety of milo that volunteers), or (God forbid!) multi-flora rose, or cedar trees, if the birds aren't stressed, (I have literally seen birds drop dead on the flush in brutal conditions), quick energy food, close by, they are pretty hardy. Because of the way they roost, better at it than pheasants! Looks like that brutal conditions might be happening now in N.J.
 
Thanks for the link Brian, there's a ton of information there!:thumbsup:
 
I remember a lot of articles in Outdoor Life, ( boy that makes me sound old!) With Lamar Underwood talking about hunting quail in that area, and in Delaware. Lots of birds, equal to anywhere. Seems like bobwhites thrive when New Jersey was predominately small truck farms, and the sharecropping the southlands, a time past.
 
oldandnew said:
I remember a lot of articles in Outdoor Life, ( boy that makes me sound old!) With Lamar Underwood talking about hunting quail in that area, and in Delaware. Lots of birds, equal to anywhere. Seems like bobwhites thrive when New Jersey was predominately small truck farms, and the sharecropping the southlands, a time past.
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I have his "Lamar Underwood" book somewhere. I remember going fishing for pickerel and quail hunting on the same trip in the Pine Barrens, sometimes we would even bump into a grouse or two. My brother shot a grouse on his birthday that he got mounted...boy how time flies!
 
fldbred,

I love the articles and Iam hoping for the best, but do you think it's possible to have quail back? I heard they are declining even in the south. Also why would the NJ Fish +Game use southern birds?
 
I think it is possible to get them back. A lot of effort and research is being done and I think it will eventually pay off. A month or two ago I read an article in pointing dog journal or something about eye parasites in quail and they might have something to due with the decline in quail. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere.
 
PaRooster,

It's true that quail have been declining on a nation wide scale. But there HAS been some success. Since 1996 one of the major quail research areas in the south has seen A 10 FOLD INCREASE and 2 QUAIL PER ACRE! Now granted this was done under a controled situation with a lot of habitat management. There is also a County in Virginia that has shown a great comeback, and that is a fairly large area,this area IS being hunted. I've also heard of an area in Alabama that is back to historic levels. These are just a drop in the bucket compared to the loss nation wide but it shows it can be done!
The area NJ is receiving birds from is Southern Pine Forest, and the area in NJ that will get the birds is the NJ Pine Barrens. The birds were chosen from that area because the habitat most closely matched each other. A lot of the research was done by the NJ Audobon and Delaware U. and not the Fish n Game. There are a lot of smart people working on these projects, so yes I think it can work.
 
bauerline said:
I think it is possible to get them back. A lot of effort and research is being done and I think it will eventually pay off. A month or two ago I read an article in pointing dog journal or something about eye parasites in quail and they might have something to due with the decline in quail. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere.
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I've seen that before Brian....don't get me started. LOL I'll take to my grave knowing that there was more going on than just habitat for both the quail and pheasant.
 
Hey Guys thanks for the info! It looks like NJ and other states are way ahead of Pa. in the effort to bring back the quail.
 
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