Quail habitat on the Nanticoke River Wildlife Management Area. Photo by Rachael Pacella, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The softball-sized, onomatopoeically-named bobwhite quail needs four things in its habitat: a place to nest and raise its young, a place to hide from predators, a place with food, and a place for the winter.
A century ago it was easy to find all four. By a decade ago, it was almost impossible. The groundbird’s early morning “poor, bob-white” calls that have long been a fixture of rural life were fading.
But today, quail are calling once again in the Nanticoke River Wildlife Management Area in Wicomico County, thanks to habitat restoration by the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service.
Wild Turkey and Upland Game Bird Project Manager Bob Long is leading the department’s efforts to restore quail in Maryland. In addition to making improvements on public lands, Long and private groups such as Chesapeake Bay Quail Forever are encouraging private property owners to make quail-friendly improvements.
Northern bobwhite quail. Photo by Rachel Rahm, submitted to the 2023 Maryland DNR Photo Contest.
Overall, quail have declined more than 90% in Maryland since the 1950s. A reduction in large predators through the centuries allowed smaller predators such as raccoons and foxes to thrive — bad news for the prey of those small predators, quail included.
Farming practices have also changed over time, as there are fewer small farms and more large farms on Delmarva, which tend to use every inch of land for crop production, which leaves limited space for the scrub and brush habitat where quail thrive.
Quail Forever Chesapeake Bay Chapter Officer John Brader said growing up he was introduced to hunting and conservation through hunting small game, such as quail, pheasants and rabbits.
Those same opportunities are rare for today’s young hunters, according to Brader.
“It takes habitat, and habitat takes work,” Brader said.
Wildlife and Heritage Service Habitat Manager Greg Schenck and his team began a concerted effort to increase the amount of habitat at Nanticoke in 2009. Many former agricultural fields were planted in grasses that grow in bunches and forbs, providing perfect nesting and brood-rearing cover for quail.
Using precision agriculture, farmers can identify low-performing spots in corn or soybean fields and turn them into high-performing habitats for quail and a host of other critters.
The restoration team also removed invasive and undesirable vegetation using a variety of techniques. What started as less than 50 acres of habitat in 2009 has grown to nearly 300 today.
A total of 60 acres of forest was thinned from the property in 2017. The clearing allowed shrubs and low-growing species to return to the landscape, giving the birds a place to roost and hide from predators. It was a major transformation, and has been maintained with frequent prescribed fires.
By using prescribed fires and other methods, DNR staff are creating early successional habitat, which are the early stages of a forest’s growth after a wildfire or other disturbance. With shady canopies absent, shrubs and other low-to-the-ground species thrive.
That type of habitat is beneficial for a number of species, not just quail. Wild turkeys and many species of declining songbirds also benefit from the additional food and habitat.
Restoration is bringing results. At Nanticoke, fall quail surveys have revealed an increase from an average of roughly one quail per 10 acres between 2017 and 2020 to four quail per 10 acres between 2021 and 2024. That’s a remarkable quadrupling in four years.
Nanticoke is not the only area where quail are returning. Major habitat restoration work at Brown’s Branch in Queen Anne’s County is ongoing and has the potential to yield big results. In partnership with Washington College, Cypress Branch State Park in Kent County is also home to a purposely planted quail habitat on former agricultural land.
And, as the work proceeds, there will hopefully be a future where the quail’s “bob-white” call once again sounds across the Eastern Shore.
Article by Rachael Pacella, Public Information Officer for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
