The following was written by Grace Nafziger, Natural Areas Intern
Six years ago, Ronnie Moore started Bernheim’s Bobwhite Quail release project. Today, Bernheim’s Bobwhite Quial population is growing! The quail began to disappear from areas in Kentucky due to habitat loss but Bernheim is able to provide the open field habitats that quail need to survive. With help from volunteers, Ronnie is able to incubate and hatch quail eggs. When the new quail are five weeks old, they are banded and released into the wild. One indication of the project’s success is the amount of quail that could still be heard calling after the intense winter that Kentucky recently experienced. Also, there are sightings of quail without bands around their legs which means that the quail are reproducing and forming a wild population.