Managing for Bobwhite Quail in Ohio's Agricultural Landscape

Post date: Oct 30, 2016 12:41:27 AM

This OSU Fact Sheet comes from research done in Highland County. This is a great resource for quail management.

The Northern bobwhite is a popular upland game bird found throughout the eastern United States. Bobwhites are roughly the size of a softball and have cryptic coloration to hide from predators. Male and female bobwhites have facial masks and throat patches. On males, these are white; on females, they are buff-colored (Figure 1). Bobwhites are perhaps most recognizable by males whistling "bob-WHITE" during the breeding season.

Bobwhite population levels fluctuate naturally in what are often referred to as "boom and bust" years. Nevertheless, bobwhite populations are on long-term declines throughout their range, including Ohio. Ohioans may remember the dramatic declines associated with severe winters in 1977 and 1978. Bobwhite populations are capable of recovering after severe weather events. However, continued loss of habitat, primarily through intensification of agricultural practices and advancing successional stages of vegetation, have inhibited recovery of populations in the upper Midwest.

To read more about the Bobwhite Quail, please go to this link Managing for Bobwhite Quail in Ohio's Agricultural Landscape or open the PDF file attached.