#based on a northern bobwhite quail

[lightningwaters]

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

The State Bird Initiative: Georgia (#4) - Results

The time has come for results...about a day late than I'd planned! Why? Let's just say that the next poll is causing me...difficulties. We'll get to that, don't worry, BUT FOR NOW! Let's talk Georgia, and the State Bird as decided by a pretty decent chunk of votes! OK, Tumblr, what'd you think should be the State Bird of the Peach State?

The fourth state, and the second incumbent winner!

SBI Elected State Bird of Georgia: Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

Well, I said this was gonna be a difficult bird to dethrone, and I was right! By all intents and purposes, there's nothing wrong with the Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) that would make it a bad candidate for the state bird of Georgia! There's also a common statement about the Brown Thrasher's significance to Georgia as a bird of many songs! As a songbird and a mimid in particular, thrashers are known for their repetoire of songs. And for a state that produced famous musicians like Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Otis Redding, Alan Jackson, Little Richard, OutKast, TLC, Zac Brown Band, and The B-52s...yeah, that's a fair association. Plus, you'll notice...there's an extra significance to the state bird being the Brown Thrasher, just based on the musical connection.

So, yeah, this is a pretty solid choice for State Bird of Georgia, based on this alone. And sure, the species barely breeds in Georgia, and it's not incredibly common there...but it can be seen. And seeing it is still a way to get people into looking out for their state bird. I think it works well! And, while we're at it...that's not the only State Bird to maintain its position.

SBI Incumbent State Game Bird of Georgia: Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

Also retaining the position of State Game Bird is Robert White, AKA the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)! Now, here's the deal with the quail here. This is not the only state that may have this as a State Game Bird, and we'll have to have a reckoning for that position when the time comes. For that matter, we may also have a separate election for this species down the line. But, for now, we'll let the bobwhite keep this title, and move on to other candidates for the personal choices of the SBI (as determined by the votes, and other potential valuable individuals for the position).

With that said, check out the birds after the jump for the SBI's personal choices, and for the rest of you who'd rather not, see you next time in Connecticut! Which is a state that's caused me a lot of irritation, surprisingly! We'll, uh, we'll get there.

State Raptor of Georgia (SBI): Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Starting with the Raptor, since the State Bird and State Game Bird are Tumblr and SBI-endorsed. I pretty thoroughly explained my reasoning for this one in the original post, and it hasn't changed. Georgia gets a raptor, Atlanta gets its Hawk. It works! Now, granted, other states could claim the species for their Raptor, but those states should probably get another species that would hit better. So, Georgia gets the Red-shouldered!

Also, funny story: I was once trapped in a tiny room in a raptor rehabilitation center with one of these guys, armed only with a net and fear. It'd just been rescued after a vehicle strike which it miraculously survived, and it was VERY angry and still capable of flight, with the bird equivalent of a concussion. This meant that, at any moment in the 5-10 minutes we had together, it could've launched out of its corner towards MY corner of the room, and accidentally slammed into my face feet-first. It was angry, and I was 15. Fun day. Anyway, uh...next entry!

SBI's Big Fifty - New Jersey: Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla)

Not gonna lie, I really wanted this to be the State Bird of Georgia. I mean, it's dependent on its population in the state for breeding, it's iconic in appearance and sound, with both being cute-as-shit. It'd be fairly easy to locate for anybody with the drive to do so, including kids that would probably love it. It's representative of a major habitat in the state and region, and one that's in serious danger, and it's even considered a major conservation focus. But...it's not as iconic in Georgia as the Brown Thrasher. It's a losing battle, despite how cute it is. I actually think that, if on the ballot this November, it would have a chance at winning with the broader public if its picture were allowed on the ballot. But...yeah, not a chance against the known incumbent, as seen in the Tumblr poll.

So, instead, it's making it into the Big Fifty for Georgia. Now, this is probably a little cheap for the list as a whole, since it's not exclusive to the state, and probably isn't a major birding highlight for anybody in particular. However, it's definitely a Georgia bird, is a solid Life Lister for anybody not form the state (like myself), and prompts birders and those seeking the Big Fifty to visit the forests on conservation concern where they're found. And so, the Brown-headed Nuthatch is the Big Fifty pick for Georgia! Also, to be clear, it got second place in the poll, so this is the prize! And the third place is tied between the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) a bird with major representation in other states (meaning it's not the best choice for Georgia), and...

State Conservation Focus of Georgia (SBI): Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Remember the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) from the Pennsylvania poll, especially the Results section? There, I mentioned the role of the woodpecker as a keystone species? Yeah, that, but WAY MORE for the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), which makes the cavities that the Pileated Woodpecker lives in much of the time! I mean, that alone is a pretty good reason to use this species as a conservation focus. What's more, Birds Georgia already uses it as a mascot for this reason, and it's currently in great need of conservation in the state. Sure, it doesn't breed a whole lot there, but it's still a prominent target for conservation, as are the pine forests it tends to live in.

And with that, we've finished up the round for Georgia! Time to move onto the next state...which has been...a lot of trouble. Moreso than anticipated, if I'm honest with you. You'll see once we get there, though. So, see you in Connecticut!

See you next time, and happy birding!

[skycowboys]

I just found your blog and your Pegasus are amazing! Love all the thoughts that went into them to make them appear as realistic as possible. I wondered, would there be a Pegasus based off of quails (like northern bobwhites or button quails)? They might be too small to ride but they would surely make great pets!

Yay glad to have you here! Thank you!

Ok so tiny quail pegasi would be adorable...but I kinda ran in the opposite direction this time. What if they were massive chonk shortwings with comically tiny wings and lots of spots??

I couldn't stop myself

- Larn

[seeliragh-fr]

i make a list of every canon fr flora or fauna species that exists in the Seeliragh-verse Shifting Expanse

hi . links to the respective database entries and lore under the cut

Amber Gulper: most of the aquatic species of the Shifting Expanse are in fact semiaquatic extremophiles capable of surviving periods of intense heat and little to no moisture, as well as torrential rain and flash flooding. The amber gulper is named for its ability to breathe outside of water, and for its thick red-gold plating.

Blackshield Cockroach

Blue Tang Hippogriff: hippogriffs are smaller than gryphons, but make up for it in formidable pair and pack hunting formations.

Bluetipped Shellbug

Bobwhite Quail

Brown Bat

Brown River Flight: Seeliragh-verse Shifting Expanse has three different species of river flight, and brown and grey river flights are closely related enough to interbreed

Brush Dodo: these things run a lot faster than they look like they do.

Buff Dunerunner: often seen skirting the edge of cliffs along the edge of the Carrion Canyons. Mainly prey on buttersnakes they flush from the scrub.

Canyon Ruffage

Cave Gecko

Charged Duneberry: the name is misleading- duneberries are actually the fruiting bodies of a type of lichen. they can be juiced for a source of clean, if slightly tangy water.

Clouddancer: usually avoid clashing with territorial hippogriffs by occupying a much higher altitude in mesa outcroppings, because they have thicker plumage and can withstand colder temperatures. early morning hunters for this reason as well

Common Sparrow

Corpse Cleaner: found at the bottom of canyons. you can hear their legs clicking on the rocks from far off and it’s kind of fucked up

Cragside Mussels: also called “muck mussels” for their ability to continue to grow in moist silt as water sources dry up for the season. they can often be spotted by the telltale deposits of ore dust around them; cragside mussels will spit out any grainy irritant with a jet of water, rather than forming pearls.

Crested River Flight: crested river flights are larger than both brown and grey river flights

Crow: crows, magpies, and squall seekers will all roost together in large flocks that nest in alcoves in the canyon walls. they look pretty big until you put them next to a storm seeker

Dark-bordered Beauty

Desert Cactus

Desert Scrub

Dire Vulture

Dune Vampire: in the Seeliragh-verse, huge sandstorm-like swarms of dune vampires are fabled to sweep across the northern canyons and the highland scrub, killing everything in their path including dragons. “death by inhalation-based internal mosquito bites” is bad enough but people also say that anything that manages to survive the swarm will be killed by the reaction to sun exposure to all the bites

Duskthicket Bonepicker

Dustwing Hummingbird

Dung Beetle

Emerald Cave Jewel

Engorged Skytick

False Veneer Moth: these moths migrate like monarch butterflies, except to the north for the dry season instead of the south for the winter. seeing big groups of them migrating is kind of a spectacle; their wings reflecting and refracting light create the appearance of a mesmerizing, glittering cloud. this is also some of the first Seeliragh-verse lore for some reason

Fanned Cockroach

Fissure Crawdad: found in fast-running underground streams in deep cave fissures

Giant Desert Centipede

Goat

Golden Roc: Seeliragh-verse rocs can live as long as dragons, and grow as big as some of the larger ones. Rocs in the Shifting Expanse usually have known names, like how people name hurricanes, and their respective ranges are marked out on maps

Greater Sandstrike

Greyback Sparrow

Grey River Flight

Grouse

Grouse Basilisk

Gryphon’s Blood Sempervivium

Hardshell Moonsting

Highreach Bonepicker

High-Voltage Almonds: dragons make fucked up almond milk out of these. it’s a delicacy in the great Southern lairs, along with volt almond liqueur

Hippojay: a lot of raptor species in the shifting expanse are blue-black toned, for camouflage against stormy skies. these guys are highland predators, and aren’t found in the canyons as much

Juvenile Prairie Skink

Leucistic Crow

Magpie

Manyleaves

Masked Gryphon: there are actually some rivers in the Seeliragh-verse Shifting Expanse, even though the majority of them only run above ground for about a quarter of their length. in the dry part of the year, the riverbeds are mostly mud, which is why masked gryphons have such silly little sandpiper legs and raccoon hands for digging out lungfish-type creatures

Meal Moth

Mimic Buttersnake

Murkbottom Gull: found only in the very north and south, by the ocean and the Sea of a Thousand Currents. seen in a lot of heraldic designs for the nomadic highlands clans, as a symbol for fair winds, luck, and locating water

Notocactus: these cacti can be harvested for water, but the outer skin has a poisonous coating that will numb the mouth and irritate the insides if not scrubbed or peeled off first. this was some of the very first Seeliragh-verse lore for some reason

Oasis Songbird: it’s bad luck to eat oasis songbirds in most of the Expanse. their feathers are worn by canyon travelers for luck, and used as offerings at springside shrines

Peacock Scorpion: peacock scorpions turn a different color when they mate, like salmon

Polarized Bell Goat: Closely related to common bell goats, but specialized for a diet of static-charged scrub and lichen species

Polarized Mushrooms: glow brigher around copper deposits in cave walls

Prickly Strangler

Sanddrift Aconite

Sanddrift Fuiran

Sand Sucker: mud leeches. the beast is demonic in nature. very icky, no good.

Shiny Anole

Sparkling Crayfish

Sparksylph: ridiculously rare apparitions. it’s like seeing ball lightning. they feature in a lot of ghost stories and folklore. people regard them as either an ill omen or a sign of the desert’s favor, which can sometimes mean the same thing.

Spore Spreader Moth

Squall Seeker

Star Moss

Stonewatch Flatblade

Stonewatch Scrub

Storm Seeker: will sometimes flock with smaller corvids, especially in high places with a lot of storm activity. leucistic storm seekers are rare, but possible. also show up in a lot of heraldic designs, but mostly ancient ones from the beginning of the fourth age. there are ancient cartouches a quarter mile tall carved into the walls out in the canyons that depict storm seekers alongside long-dead pictographic languages

Striped Monitor

Subterranean Termite

Swallowtail Buttersnake

Thistle

Thunder Scarab

Valley Quail

Warmwater Twister

Wild Catsup

Winged Barb

Wispwillow Peryton: I also kind of wanted to include the petal peryton, but I think in general the Seeliragh-verse Shifting Expanse has a variety of peryton species and color morphs. they’re the main large prey animal for the region, although hippogriffs and other predators routinely die in conflict with them. wispwillow peryton are mostly nocturnal, and are nicely camouflaged against the voltaic foliage they eat. other types are smaller and hardier canyon species that behave a little bit more like mountain goats.

Wood Shrimp

[michael-massa-micon]

Northern Bobwhite Quail - March 2021 Kathy saw these birds running in the ditch alongside the car. Then they ran up into the grass as I tried desperately to get a clear image of them. Image one is a female Northern Bobwhite Quail. Image two is a male. Images three through seven show how well these birds conceal themselves in the grass. The male is at the base of the tuft of grass in image three but is almost invisible. They hide very well and they run amazingly fast through the grass. MWM

[arplis]

Arplis - News: The number of hunters is actually on the rise

And quality habitat is at the lowest it’s ever been. Competing ideas are at play in the hunting industry and community. Here’s more. Over the past few years, the hunting community has jumped full sail into what it’s calling the R3 movement. “R3” stands for recruitment, retention, and reactivation of hunters. And it’s an effort to boost the number of hunters in myriad ways, mostly due to the idea that hunter numbers are in decline. It’s an interesting idea, but it bears a closer look. While hunters are on the decline per capita, the actual number of hunters on the American landscape tells a different story. And beyond that, habitat and biodiversity in the lower 48 are both well into declines that are not only alarming but also potentially devastating to both hunter opportunities and the variety of healthy American ecosystems in general. There are three things I think we need to look at from a wholesale perspective. The first is the consistent use of fear-based marketing tactics that tends to put the hunting community on the defense. The second is taking a look at hunter numbers from a broader perspective that shows us some good news about hunter numbers. And the third is aligning our educational focus to both help habitat and create public goodwill, as hunter numbers per capita are unlikely to increase at the rate of population growth. Understanding these main issues is just the first step in correcting the narrative. What follows is a call to action: to educate, rather than try to recruit, our non-hunting friends. Because what hunting really needs is not more hunters, but more habitat. ‘The Decline of Hunting’: Scarier & Sexier Than Your Halloween Costume Off the bat, I’d like to set the record straight: I’m all for new hunters coming into the fold. I’m in my seventh year of hunting, and other hunters have certainly helped me get here. I’ve hosted a women’s hunting camp, in part to help introduce novice hunters to the pastime. Personally, I’m not sure hunters can be created or recruited out of marketing efforts. But I do think that a broad and general public who views hunting positively is the best deal we hunters could possibly create for ourselves. And the general, non-hunting public can make a powerful ally for land conservation. (More on this later.) Photo credit: Roman Kosolapov via Shutterstock Over and over again, I’ve heard organizations and well-heeled influencers talking about how hunter numbers are in decline and that this is a mortal wound in the side of hunting culture that needs to be addressed. There’s some truth here — albeit massaged truth — and I’ll get to that. But fear is the ultimate motivator, and whenever I sniff out fear in messaging, my inner skeptic sounds the alarm. Making fear sexy involves adding some sort of positive outcome or good intention; it gives worrying a purpose. The hunting community is deft in this regard. A few examples of things I’ve heard in one form or another reflect this: “There are fewer hunters than ever! If we recruit more hunters, then we’ll save conservation!” “Hunters are in decline! We need more hunters or the system is going to fail us, and we’re gonna lose our hunting traditions!” “If we don’t have enough hunters, we don’t have enough money to protect the things we love to hunt! More hunters, more money!” This leads me to my first point: If you find yourself being motivated by fear or defensive tactics, think twice. Fear is the most commonly used tactic in marketing because it works. And really, R3 is a giant marketing campaign for an effort that has no data to show it will substantially increase numbers in hunting. I’d be remiss to not mention that a lot of this fear comes down to money. Hunters and anglers do contribute a lot of money to conservation, through a variety of sources, including hunting licenses, excises taxes, travel, buying power, and more. It’s certainly in the best interest of any membership-based organization, brand, or wildlife agency to generate more income. It’s one thing to increase your bottom line — that’s all fine and good — but it’s another to massage numbers and messaging in certain ways to do it. So let’s look at the numbers in a different way. Are Hunter Numbers Really Declining That Much? One of the main points that come up in the conversation around hunting decline is hunter numbers per capita — not hunter numbers in total. When we talk about what percent of hunters exist across the national population, it ain’t big. At less than 4% of the population, hunters are outnumbered. But that’s nothing new. In 1958, the American population was about 175 million. Today, our population stands at nearly 333 million people. Around the same time, 54 million folks lived in rural areas. The rural population today is actually more than that, at 59 million folks. Even with more people living in rural areas, the per capita percentage of rural America sharply declined as our urban population grew. And that’s also true of hunters per capita. But the numbers of hunters actually haven’t diminished all that much, when we look at it more holistically. In 1958, 14,138,182 people owned hunting licenses. In 2020, hunting license owners numbered 15,158,443 — over 1 million more. And we’re not all that far away from the peak number of 17 million hunters in 1982. And it’s worth noting these numbers wax and wane a few million over time. Put another way for more context: In 1958, 8% of the population hunted. In 1982, with more hunters than ever before, there was still a per capita decline, at 7%. And in 2020, 4.5% of the population hunted. Yes, that’s a decline per capita. But it’s not, in my opinion, a damning one. The Real Decline: Habitat Loss American Bison wander the Kansas Maxwell Prairie Preserve, public habitat in Kansas donated by the Maxwell family; photo credit: Ricardo Reitmeyer via Shutterstock Habitat loss comes in three types: destruction, fragmentation, and degradation. And America has all three in spades. The grasslands of the American Plains stand as some of the most imperiled in the nation. Serious fragmentation and monocultural agriculture practices are harming flora and fauna at alarming rates. Since colonization, American grasslands have declined by nearly 60%. Wetlands and waterways are also in serious trouble. Since the 1950s, we’ve lost nearly 17 million acres of wetlands. To top it off, a recent study from the Ecological Society of America showed that imperiled species in the U.S. are most affected by habitat loss on private lands. And private lands make up 60% of the U.S. landmass. Thankfully, the U.S. has a more robust system of public lands than the majority of countries, but this is not a catch-all for habitat, especially with most of the public land centered in the American West. With habitat increasingly fragmented, plowed under for massive cornfields, or simply paved over with concrete, we’re seeing massive losses in the numbers of birds, insects, plant life, and suitable habitat for all wildlife across the lower 48 in particular. Not only does decreased habitat mean fewer opportunities to hunt, but it also means fewer species overall. Take the northern bobwhite quail, for example. A combo of habitat fragmentation and timber managed for economic rather than ecological bounty are two huge reasons why we’ve seen an 85% decrease in the bird’s population since 1966. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can manage timber for both birds and the economy, and we can help increase hunting opportunities in the process. Groups like Quail Forever focus almost entirely on habitat restoration and give folks the tools they need to create habitat on their own. The National Wildlife Federation has a Certified Wildlife Habitat program that allows individuals to certify their backyard gardens as quality habitats for all sorts of critters. And hunting- and angling-driven conservation groups like Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation incorporate increased habitat reclamation, protection, and enhancement as top priorities in their conservation efforts. As a result of these efforts, millions of acres of habitat have been restored. As many conservationists say, “What’s good for the bird is good for the herd.” It’s all interconnected. But there’s a helluva lot more to do here. Under Pressure: Decreased Opportunity, Increased Demand If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Wow! My favorite hunting spot is getting hammered. Guess it’s not my favorite spot anymore,” you’re not alone. The increase of hunters and the decrease of opportunity is a serious issue. Here’s the meat of this oxtail: We have more hunters than we did in 1958, and we have lost large amounts of quality habitat to hunt. Habitat begets both plant life and wildlife. All these things feed off each other. This results in a lot of pressure being put on a massively reduced huntable landscape. The issue of the 3.5% per capita loss in hunters in the overall population isn’t reflective of a dying tradition; it’s reflective of a growing and more urbanized population with less exposure to hunting. This leaves a potential rift in a democratic society. If the majority isn’t for hunting, the minority loses out on their traditions. We saw it happen in British Columbia with the banned grizzly hunt. It can certainly happen here if hunters don’t act in their own best interests. So, What Do We Do? Canada geese in migration at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, DE; photo credit: Bo Shen via Shutterstock If any hunter wants to do all hunters a favor, we need to be great ambassadors for hunting culture. Not to bring people in, but to better their assumptions about who hunters are. We need to lead on educating and incentivizing private landowners on ways to help the wildlife and plant life they interact with daily. We need to castigate and throw out the damaging image of “trophy hunting.” And we need to feed our non-hunting friends wild game, leave the door open if they want to join, and hopefully create an advocate either way. But the biggest necessary overhaul is the need to shift our focus from the unsubstantiated fear propagated by the R3 movement and move toward engaging in greater and more nuanced public education, in conjunction with real physical work to restore habitats and ecosystems. Maybe even in our own backyard. Here’s my call to action: Don’t convince someone to go on a turkey hunt with you. Instead, ask more people you know to help with a local habitat restoration project. Certify your garden or even your balcony. And if you don’t have private land, invest some time in a small tract of public land. Then, tell folks about it. Toot your own horn. Bring non-hunters into the habitat-making fold. If every hunter committed to bettering one acre of land in a year, more than 15 million acres could be restored. And, surprisingly, that’s 1 million more acres than would have been restored by hunters in 1958. The post The Hunter Decline Myth: Habitat — Not Hunting — Is at Risk appeared first on GearJunkie. #Conservation #Hunting #Hunt/Fish

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/the-number-of-hunters-is-actually-on-the-rise

[wigmund]

From American Bird Conservancy Bird of the Week; June 2, 2017:

Northern Bobwhite

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Colinus virginianus POPULATION: 5.8 million TREND: Decreasing HABITAT: Old fields and hedgerows, grasslands, open forests

Also known as Virginia quail or bobwhite quail, the Northern Bobwhite is native to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The clear, whistled “bobwhite” call was once a common sound throughout the birds' range. It's much more rare today; populations plunged between 1966 and 2014, resulting in an overall decline of 85 percent, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

Habitat loss and the increased use of pesticides are thought to be the culprits behind this steep decline—a worrisome trend also noted in other birds sharing similar habitats, including Loggerhead Shrike.

A Bevy of Bobwhite

The Northern Bobwhite is divided into a whopping 22 subspecies (including the Florida subspecies featured in the video above). Some of these were formerly considered to be separate species, including the Rufous-bellied Bobwhite and Black-headed Bobwhite. One subspecies, the Masked Bobwhite, is federally listed as endangered.

Northern Bobwhite populations are non-migratory, particularly where there is good habitat available. This species is a popular game bird and is the well-studied subject of many different management programs. (For example, the University of Missouri Extension Service provides recommendations for landowners who want to increase quail on their property.)

Ground Gleaners

Like related New World quail species such as Gorgeted Wood-Quail, the Northern Bobwhite has a short, curved bill; a chunky, roundish body; and a short tail. They are ground-dwelling birds, preferring to walk or run, although they are capable of strong, short bursts of flight, particularly when fleeing from predators.

These quail are more often heard than seen, since they tend to stay within dense low cover where their dappled brown-and-white plumage provides excellent camouflage. But sometimes, especially when calling in spring, male bobwhites will occupy a highly visible location, such as atop a fencepost.

Northern Bobwhites feed by gleaning along the ground, consuming a largely plant-based diet of seeds, fruit, stems, and leaves. They add insects, spiders, and snails to the menu during spring and summer, particularly when providing food to their young.

Safety in Numbers

Each fall, Northern Bobwhites form groups, or coveys, of three to twenty birds. At night, these coveys roost in a close-packed, outward-facing circle with their tails pointing toward the center, probably to conserve heat and stay alert for predators. As a very social species, they stay in coveys until the beginning of nesting season each spring, when they begin to pair off.

Although seemingly monogamous during the nesting season, each member of a bobwhite pair may mate with several different partners, a strategy which ensures maximum genetic fitness and diversity. Both sexes work to build the nest, a simple scrape on the ground lined with leaves and grasses. These birds often weave dry grass or weeds to form an arch around the nest, which hides it from potential predators. In some south Texas populations, the female will leave the male to incubate and hatch one nest while she starts another.

Northern Bobwhite nest and eggs by National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative

Female bobwhites lay large clutches of 12 to 16 eggs, which both parents incubate. The hatchlings are precocial (they emerge from the egg covered in down, able to walk, with eyes open) and leave the nest shortly after hatching.

Young bobwhites are fed and cared for by their parents for several weeks after leaving the nest. In a good nesting season and in suitable habitat, female bobwhites can raise several broods per year.

Like Black-necked Stilt, Piping Plover, and other ground-nesting birds, adults may perform broken-wing displays near nests or fledglings to draw predators away.

Benefitting the Bobwhite

Like the Grasshopper Sparrow, Partners in Flight considers the Northern Bobwhite as a “Common Bird in Steep Decline.”

Fortunately, Northern Bobwhites can respond positively and quickly to habitat management changes on working lands, and ABC-supported projects are focusing on bringing back the numbers of this bird. (Read more about ABC's work with landowners in the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture to restore habitat for Northern Bobwhite and other birds).

ABC also joins forces with other groups, including the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, to create habitat for the bobwhite and other bird species found in similar habitats, including Painted Bunting, Prairie Warbler, and Dickcissel.

[kansascityhappenings]

As upland bird hunting season approaches the prospects in Kansas look good

Pratt, Ks – Each year the Kansas Department of Wildlife provides bird hunters with a forecast of the upcoming season.  Well the surveys are complete, data is in, and the 2019 Kansas Upland Bird Hunting Forecast is ready for viewing.  Hunters eagerly await the annual forecast to see what they can expect this year for pheasant, quail and prairie chicken this season.  Based on this year’s crow counts for pheasants, whistle counts for quail, and lek counts for prairie chickens, overall upland bird hunting prospects are looking “good” for fall.

PHEASANT

Pheasant hunting in Kansas should be fair to locally good this year.  After a difficult year in 2018, due to heavy winter precipitation, that has helped entering the

Common Pheasant

2019 nesting season.  After some late winter storms raised some concerns in western Kansas, the spring crowing index remained the same as 2018, indicating no harm on winter survival.  The nests that hatched responded to the plentiful cover with relatively high chick survival, indicated by larger brood sizes.

Kansas continues to maintain one of the best pheasant populations in the country and the fall harvest should again be among the leading states.  The highest densities this year will likely be in the High Plains regions of western Kansas.

QUAIL

Quail hunting in Kansas should be good in 2019.  Kansas is still supporting above-average populations. While total harvest

Bobwhite Quail

has remained below average due to decreasing hunter participation, the average daily bag has remained at some of the highest levels observed in 20 years.

The bobwhite whistle survey in the spring of 2019 showed a modest decline following a tough season in 2018.  The 2019 roadside survey index was just slightly higher than 2018 suggesting production compensated for any reductions previously recorded.  The best opportunities will be found in central regions, extending into the northern Flint Hills and west into the Southern High Plains.

  PRAIRIE CHICKENS

Kansas is home to both the greater and lesser prairie chickens. Lesser prairie chickens are found in the west-central and southwestern Kansas native prairie and stands of native grass.

Greater Prairie Chicken

Greater prairie chickens are found primarily in the tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies that occur in the eastern third and northern half of the state.  Hunting opportunities will be best in the Northern High Plains and Smoky Hills regions this fall.  Populations have been increasing or stabilized and public access is more abundant.

The Southwest Prairie Chicken Unit, where lesser prairie chickens are found, will remain closed to hunting this year.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/09/19/as-upland-bird-hunting-season-approaches-the-prospects-in-kansas-look-good/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/09/19/as-upland-bird-hunting-season-approaches-the-prospects-in-kansas-look-good/