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Ecowrappin'

With Darrell Randell

Will Bobwhite Quail come back to SW Ontario?

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

These birds are in bad shape, but they are not gone. The Walpole Island population of quail do not have their tail feathers nailed down there. At certain times they are seen in areas adjacent. We have had regular sighting reports in Sombra Township. These reports are thought to be remnant populations that may have survived away from Walpole but more likely have migrated from there.

On our trip last November, an Illinois quail biologist told us that the birds break out of their family units, coveys, in the fall. They will fly up to 30 miles to make a new home, but they will not fly more than couple hundred yards away from good habitat. He stated that habitat connectivity is the essential component for ensuring that quail migrate to expand their range. That may explain a lot about why there has been such a decline in the range. Look at the vast open fields in south Lambton and north Kent. There is very little cover to connect Walpole to habitat areas that seem very suitable for quail across much of Lambton and in south east Kent.

Along Highway #40, the 4-lane right of way exists with only 2 lanes having been constructed. We have observed that many quail reports are near to this right of way. Are the birds using Highway 40 as a habitat connection when they attempt to expand their range?

That is why the Rural Lambton Stewardship Network, with other partners, are working to improve the habitat values along Highway #40. The cool season grasses have been sprayed and seeding of warm season, native grasses has taken place. Wildlife shrubs and small trees have also been planted. These will act as a living snow fence and it is hoped will reduce the need for winter maintenance and improve safety for motorists

I know that we are talking about a thin ribbon of habitat in the highway #40 corridor, but bear in mind what we were told in Illinois. "Habitat connectivity is essential!" On top of that look where Highway #40 goes. At the south end of this stretch it is very close to Walpole Island. Going north it runs past the Darcy McKeough Floodway and connecting lands, the Bickford Oak Woods, and on to the Sarnia Chipewa Reserve lands. There is also a lot of very good natural areas that are privately owned along side this corridor.

It may be a thin habitat ribbon but it appears to be a missing element to connect those 4 habitat anchor areas and from there out to the rest of the county. It will be important for many species to have even a thin connection to facilitate some biological diversity. If the birds, insects and small mammals in Sarnia can't get to Bickford, they sure can't breed with the ones already there.

While we were in the USA last fall, the Government of Canada listed wild, Bobwhite Quail as a "Species at Risk". I am not sure this is appropriate. To label this bird as being at risk in Canada, when this is the extreme fringe of its normal range may be misleading. I certainly hope it will devote more attention and resources to bobwhite restoration, but I suspect that even at its peak, it still had cycles of high and low populations.

One interesting theory I have heard about quail follows. The birds require a variety of habitats. Nesting areas differ from brood rearing areas, which are different from adult feeding and escape cover areas. The species is very dependant on soil disturbance to ensure that there is an adequate mix. Grass and forest fires may have produced the disturbances naturally. Even large herds of grazing animals would diversify the habitat and benefit the quail. In the USA they also manage lands for quail with mowing, burning, haying, and even disking.

The theory is that when European settlers first arrived here that there were no quail here. That the agricultural practices actually provided the necessary mix of habitats that allowed the species to expand their range on the heels of agriculture arriving here.

I guess what consoles me in that theory is that it proposes how a wildlife species actually benefited from the arrival of agriculture. There have been amazing other wildlife benefits from changing agricultural practices in recent years. I know that there will be more. I also hope that society gets to where it recognizes the value of farmed land for more than just its ability to produce food?



Darrell Randell works for Ducks Unlimited Canada as a Conservation Programs Specialist in South West Ontario. Before that he was a Lambton County Pork Producer for 25 years. He served 2 terms on Sombra Township Council, 1994-2000, and is currently a councillor in St Clair Township. He is a past president of the Lambton County Federation of Agriculture. He was a founding member of the Rural Lambton Stewardship Network and served as chairman of that group from 1995-2003. He and Nancy have 3 grown children, each of whom they are extremely proud.