Bobwhite reintroduction

[dragoncjo]

http://mobile.philly.com/news/local/?wss=/philly/news/local&id=278918901&

I've been fortunate to see two quail and heard a handful over the years. Down in pitssgrove while golfing I've heard a few, such a nice sound. Also saw two off glade road years ago. Seems like a good program, kudos to the Haines family for being good stewards of the land.

 

[bobpbx]

That photo caption (you have to click on it) really seems backward. And I believe Bill Sr. passed away? Anyone else agree? The photo should indicate that.

 

[ecampbell]

The caption does seem backward.
I used to hear Bobwhite all the time back in the 70's. I don't think I heard one for more than a decade. The obvious change in the pines I see since then is the trees have gotten so tall, no open space and the light doesn't' get to the ground. The change has been slow but dramatic.

 

[manumuskin]

used to all over the Bevan WMA when i was a kid,grouse too.both are gone now.

 

[GermanG]

Unrestricted fire before European settlement and later widespread clearing for agriculture, lumber, and charcoal production resulted in habitat idea for Bobwhite, Eastern Bluebirds and other species requiring open forests and fields. It's good to see habitat restoration such as in the above article going on. Another good example of this type of project is at the intersection of Rt. 530 and Davenport Rd., just north of Double Trouble State Park. The NJ Audubon Society took some initial local flak for the degree of clearing done on the site, but it closely duplicates what repeated and severe fires that once took place would have produced and a habitat once much more widespread.

 

[Gibby]

I am glad that Haines family "gets it" and isn't afraid to take care of business. We need more people like them around.

 

[46er]

Hopefully they are part of the NJ Quail Project and working with NJF&W. It began a number of years ago and has been making steady progress. I wish them luck with the stocked birds; stocking has not had much success elsewhere. Wild egg incubation with subsequent release appears to provide better results, hence the Quail in the Classroom program.

http://www.quailintheclassroom.org/

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/quailplan.pdf

Some wild birds can still be found on some of the NWR's, Forsythe for one.

 

[bobpbx]

It's good to see habitat restoration such as in the above article going on. Another good example of this type of project is at the intersection of Rt. 530 and Davenport Rd., just north of Double Trouble State Park. The NJ Audubon Society took some initial local flak for the degree of clearing done on the site, but it closely duplicates what repeated and severe fires that once took place would have produced and a habitat once much more widespread.

I agree. I used to be against this sort of thing, but now I kind of like it. It allows more herbs to thrive. It's all good as long as it does not get out of hand. I like the closed forest even more.

 

[Teegate]

They woke me up every morning in the summer when I was growing up in Marlton. It was farmland and fields then and they were everywhere. With that said the cows woke me up also as well as the farmers automatic "guns" that went off every few minutes to scare off the birds.

 

[johnnyb]

Bill Haines Jr. a couple of years back agreed to withhold mowing the road shoulder on the east side of 563 until plants had gone to seed,where a few Platanthera blephariglottis/White Fringed Orchids were growing. In exchange, that shoulder would be policed to remove trash. A couple years later 250+ plants were observed, one of the bigger populations here. Mr. Miller, owner of a cranberry operation below Atsion, also agreed to hold off mowing to protect a population of Spiranthes cernua/Ladies Tresses. Conservation is well and kicking.....

 

[PINEY WARDEN]

Bill Haines Jr. a couple of years back agreed to withhold mowing the road shoulder on the east side of 563 until plants had gone to seed,where a few Platanthera blephariglottis/White Fringed Orchids were growing. In exchange, that shoulder would be policed to remove trash. A couple years later 250+ plants were observed, one of the bigger populations here. Mr. Miller, owner of a cranberry operation below Atsion, also agreed to hold off mowing to protect a population of Spiranthes cernua/Ladies Tresses. Conservation is well and kicking.....

I agree totally. Most Farmers in the Pines Region and outside are great stewards to the environment for sure. Most folks do not realize that the larger landowners which comprise mainly of the farmers were the ones that kept the Pine Barrens alive and protected long before the Pinelands Act was ever thought of. A lot of history and generations has been past down through the farming families and continuing.

 

[Oriental]

As many of you probably know, at one time the Pygmy Plains were known as the Grouse Plains due to the abundance of Pinnated Grouse or Heath Hens that thrived in the area. Parties of hunters used to travel from the cities by wagon to enjoy a day of shooting in the pines. The birds were hunted out of existence by the middle of the 1800s. A small population hung on in Martha's Vineyard for several decades longer but now the species (or sub-species) is extinct. I always wondered if a cousin of these birds, the Prairie Chicken, could be re-introduced.

 

[Spung-Man]

An old post on the extant of heath hen and its Plains habitat.

https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/high-plains-drifting.5201/page-2#post-58669​

 

[Pan]

"...
I used to hear Bobwhite all the time back in the 70's. I don't think I heard one for more than a decade. The obvious change in the pines I see since then is the trees have gotten so tall, no open space and the light doesn't' get to the ground. The change has been slow but dramatic.

Same here. And as for the trees getting much taller, see my avatar. That's me in the Plains back in the early 70's, towering over the whole dwarf forest, like Paul Bunyan!

 

[Pan]

Here's another one of me in the Plains, Sep 22, 1971.

 

[Pan]

May 1976

 

[Pan]

May 1976 again

 

[Pan]

1990 - the trees are already getting taller


PS I should have made a new thread - the changing Pine Barrens Plains...

 

[Pan]

I photofixed the last one a bit. I guess the mod can move these pictures into a new thread...Sorry to hijack the bobwight thread...I remember those birds waking up in the morning camping, backpacking, out in the middle of the woods...or was that whipoorwills I remember? Duh. Whatever they were - they was boids, what's the difference? - they were quite cacophonous - and neat! - that morning, long ago.