Bobwhite -- a bird struggling to survive in Minnesota

Years ago I went down to Houston County in the southeast corner of the state to look for Bobwhite. That bird is the smallest member of the quail family, once an unquestioned resident of the state. At the time of my trip, presence of wild birds was debated. Some birders believed that the seen there quail were farm-raised and released. That opinion has persisted.

I did see a Bobwhite that day, whistling its two-note bob-white call, then watching a quail come flying to the ditch next to my car. Wild or not, it was and is a beautiful bird, and a rare sighting here.

You could do now what I did then, and if in the right place, have a distant chance of repeating my experience. (I do not know what "the right place" is today.) Work is being done to improve those chances.

Minnesota has two chapters of the conservation group Quail Forever, sister to Pheasants Forever, sharing that group's strong interest in creating and preserving appropriate habitat.

The column on the left shows the number of individual quail seen in Houston County in a given year. On the right are the number of broods seen. The number of individuals has been on a steady rise since 2011 with the exception of 2014.

2006 - 8

2007 - 11 2007 - 3

2009 - 43 2009 - 5

2010 - 32 2010 - 2

2011 - 21 2011 - 7

2012 - 35 2012 - 6

2013 - 50 2013 - 2

2015 - 62 2015 - 3

2016 – 98 2016 – 2

Bobwhite have particular habitat needs: Brushy cover, annual weeds, or a CRP (grassland) field, low-branch conifers like red cedar, or balsam fir for cover, and a reliable winter food source. Creating and maintaining habitat takes work.

Minnesota has two Quail Forever chapters with more than 200 members. Since 2005, the chapters have spent more than $74,000 on 110 acres of land to create or improve habitat for the birds.

You can get more information about Quail Forever from Chad Bloom at cbloom@pheasantsforever.org. The president of the metro and southeast chapters is Thurman Tucker of Minneapolis, probably the best friend the birds have in the state. Reach him at wtcn.nature@gmail.com.

The bird in the photo was found in Texas.