Disclaimer: I am not an expert in all herbicides. Always read and follow the safety and application guidelines from the herbicide manufacturer.
It’s the time of year that many of us grab the chainsaw and set off to complete some winter habitat work. On…
There is a primordial link that modern humans cannot escape when we stand near the ocean and look at its vastness and taste the salty
The popular publication On the Edge – A Guide to Managing Land for Bobwhite Quail has undergone a makeover.
First published in 2003, the MDC publication On the Edge – A Guide to Managing Land for Bobwhite Quail, has recently been updated and expanded. In an age where on-line articles can change daily, or even hourly, a decade or more is a long time between updates to a hard copy publication. As the saying goes, though, good things come to those that wait!
We work with you and for you to sustain healthy forests, fish and wildlife.
Jason Sykes, Area Biologist
2015 will bring more frequent updates to the MOre Quail Blog.
In the coming weeks, you should notice that the…
I’m not a very supernaturally inclined person.
Why sure, I recognize that Murphy’s Law is an inviolable law of nature; I’ve got enough scars to prove it. And of course I’ve learned many times over not to utter a peep on those infrequent days afield when I happen to have a string of good shooting; that lesson was reaffirmed just this past holiday season while hunting Mearn’s quail with my family in Arizona. I was silently nurturing a 2-day perfect shooting streak until my son, Patrick, made a big deal about my shooting … out loud … to the rest of the family. I missed the very next shot. Beyond such examples, I dismiss the supernatural.
 |
|
There comes a time, though, to believe in omens; or at least to want to believe. Two situations close and very important to me converged last weekend.
First, 2014 was a challenging year for the NBCI – a “rebuilding” year in college football parlance. The sudden and unexpected termination early in the year of the NBCI’s primary funding source spiked urgency into an ongoing – previously methodical – process of establishing a better and stronger primary funding source from the states. By the end of 2014, the new and much-improved NBCI business model was established and operational, with the leadership and investment of the states, but not without many sleepless nights.
Second, my family’s rural property and the surrounding neighborhood in central Arkansas once supported a few persisting coveys of bobwhites. I say “persisting” because our property has only about 20 acres of upland; I manage those acres intensively for native habitats for bobwhites and grass/shrub birds. To my knowledge, none of my neighboring landowners have any decent quail habitat. There’s only so much an island of 20 acres can do to support a quail population long term. I often wondered how those coveys persisted as long as they did. The party ended a few years ago during a harsh winter with extended ice and snow. The bobwhites disappeared, and we hadn’t seen any since then. Given the presumably long distance to the next wild quail population, I concluded grimly that we may not again have quail on our property for the foreseeable future.
Fast forward to last weekend, Sunday morning, January 4, 2015: my wife, kids and I were sitting around the breakfast table, eating and enjoying the warmth of the wood stove. She had a view through the picture window out to the back yard. With unnerving speed, pitch and volume, my wife jumped up shrieking “Oh, my gosh! Nobody move! Oh, my gosh! Don’t scare them! Oh, my gosh! Quail in the back yard!”
Of course, we all jumped up instantly and ran to the window, scaring an entire covey of bobwhites, which ran across to the edge of the yard and flushed into our meadow. It was a celebratory occasion for the McKenzie family, and cause for elation. That is the power of the bobwhite.
Yes, this time I want to believe in the supernatural. That covey simply has to be an omen: 2015 is destined to be a good year for the NBCI and for bobwhite conservation!
I hope all of you had a nice holiday season. Breaks are nice, but it’s always good to get back in the work “groove.” Yesterday,
The new edition of the Covey Headquarters Newsletter is now available for download.
As the the 2014 calendar is replaced with a shiny new 2015 one, most people’s thoughts turn away from the giving and receiving of the holiday season. There are a few hardy souls, though, that venture out into the winter weather hoping for some gifts well into the New Year. For those that have put in the hard work to manage their property for Mr.
We work with you and for you to sustain healthy forests, fish and wildlife.
‘…There are no silver bullets and chasing red herrings is costing us dearly.’ It is arguable that a person could not be in this quail
