Is Anybody Home?

As a little kid visiting my grandparents in Tennessee it wasn't uncommon to jump up several covey of quail while walking around on their hundred acre farm. Today, not so much. While I still hear a few birds whistle from time to time, it's rare that I ever see a wild bird, much less scatter a whole covey. I'd love to be able to find wild birds in Tennessee again, so Quail restoration and conservation is something I'm pretty passionate about. I've tried releasing birds, planting native grasses and sowing food plots, but I lack the knowledge to make any real difference. In an effort to educate myself, I decided to reach out to an expert, Dr. Dale Rollins, to see if I could share something from the Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation. He was gracious enough to allow me to share this article about counting the quail population on your land. It's an activity meant for spring and I probably could have waited to share, but I'm hoping to find and share similar articles in the future. I believe the first step to any good habitat management is to first figure out what you're working with.