Dwindling quail numbers in Virginia is a major concern

WAYNESBORO - Old-timers remember when you could go just about anywhere in rural Virginia and hear the sounds of the bobwhite quail.

Today, that's almost a rarity.

Last week, at the semiannual meeting of the Waynesboro Game and Fish Protective Association at the Shenandoah Heights Baptist Church, the demise of quail and how to handle their restoration was the major topic of interest.

Justin Folks, one of five private lands wildlife biologists working in partnership with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Natural Resources Conservation Services through Virginia Tech, addressed around 60 association members concerning what is being done to combat the problem.

"We provide recommendations for land owners on habitat for quail and other wildlife," Folks said. "Quail have been hit pretty hard. There has been an 80 percent decline over the last 60 years or so.

"Habitat loss is the big thing," he added. "We are trying to get land owners to put that habitat back on the ground. Most public owned land is not suitable. About 90 percent of land is privately owned  while state and federal land is only about eight percent."

In his slide presentation to the association, Folks showed a plunging graph over the years of quail population in Virginia from the middle of the last century until the present.

"We are losing these birds as well as hunters," he said. "It's not just a Virginia loss, but throughout North America. The big reason is habitat loss."

Folks said that he and the other four private lands wildlife biologists in the state have been working on a quail action plan adopted in 2010. They offer free technical assistance to land owners in developing a management plan, which specializes in habitat.

He works out of the Verona office and covers a territory up to Frederick and Clark  counties, and basically is concerned with the bobwhite quail.

Folks said that they deal with developing habitat plans that cover three basic areas, nesting cover, habitat brood cover and escape cover. Quail are a ground nesting bird whose chicks can take off in two weeks. The birds require lots of insects for food, and are not really built for flight.

Folks said that the habitat restoration for quail as an umbrella species also benefits many other animals including pollinators, rabbits, deer, turkey, woodcocks, and other birds to mention a few.

Folks noted that all undeveloped land is not that conducive for quail, especially heavily forested areas. Open areas, particularly pastures, meadows and field borders are most suited for habitat restoration. His slide presentation showed how those lands can be developed.

But even after restoration, there's no guarantee.

"You have to do the habitat first," he said. "You cross your fingers that the quail show up."

Folks said he is available at Justin.Folks@va.usda.gov for those interested in habitat restoration.

Meanwhile, in other association information, president Kenny Wilkinson reported that the organization was in its 86th consecutive year, making it the oldest conservation group in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

All told, there have been 32 scholarship recipients from the organization for students in the wildlife field, with three currently receiving funds, including two students at Virginia Tech and one at Longwood. Fundraising activities to support the scholarships have been successful.

Wilkinson also updated the membership on the spring meeting topic of South River restoration from mercury contamination, and whether Waynesboro would receive any of the DuPont settlement funds.

"It's in the works, and it is good for Waynesboro," he said.