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 The GSBAS’ Adopt-A-Quail Program
gives members an opportunity to aid the
Northern Bobwhite Quail Restoration Project
at Connetquot River State Park Preserve.
The goal of this project is to restore the
quail population to a self-sustaining level
while educating the community about wildlife
and the environment, as well as naturally
reducing the tick population within the
preserve.
The Northern Bobwhite Quail Restoration
Project was started in 2006 by local
resident, Cathy Wilvert. Cathy is a
registered nurse, avid horsewoman, and
nature lover who is concerned about the lack
of ground birds and the high number of ticks
at the preserve. With help from her husband,
Ken, and four daughters, Theresa, Megan,
Jennifer, and Emily, Cathy has been working
steadily raising the chicks and releasing
them in the preserve.
Your Adopt-A-Quail donation goes towards
the purchase of a Northern Bobwhite Quail
chick and its care until release day and
each adoption only costs only $5.00 per
quail.
 Click
here to download the adoption form.
Sunday, June 18, 2011 -
2011 Northern Bobwhite Quail Release at CRSPP
Story by Carol Jansch
How do you safely prepare to gather and move over 600 Northern
Bobwhite quail chicks that are ready for release into the wilds of
Connectquout River State Park Preserve? If you are Cathy Wilvert, a
member of the Friends of Connetquot, you call upon your five years of
quail rearing experience and along with a crew of dedicated volunteers,
specially designed transport cages, a pickup truck, and a dry weather
forecast you are ready for release day.
Early on Saturday, June 18, 2011 the volunteers met at the quails’
brooder house and flight pen located on Cathy’s property that borders
Connetquot River State Park Preserve. Many trips from the pen to the
preserve would be needed but before we could transport them, each quail
needed to be counted and then corralled from the brooding house through
a small door into waiting cages. The cages were kept covered to keep the
quail calm and then loaded onto the truck for the mile or so ride to the
release location. They are released in an area off-limits to preserve
visitors, near the edge of a wooded area that opens to a large, grassy
field. The Bobwhites will feed on grasses and insects, especially the
ticks that are abundant in the Preserve. The dry weather forecast over
the next few days helps the quail adjust and harden to their new
environment without having to deal with the elements, increasing their
survival rate.
While all of the 620 quail safely made it to the release point, not
all of the Bobwhites wanted to go. One made himself comfortable on the
hood of the truck, refusing to move. “Ford”, as he was subsequently
named, rode back with us to the farm. Ford then joined a group of five
other Bobwhites who will accompany Cathy when she educates and lectures
on the importance of restoring the Bobwhite quail to the Preserve.
Since Cathy began her release program in 2005, close to 4,000
Northern Bobwhite quail, raised from hatchlings, have been released in
the Connetquot River State Park Preserve. The Great South Bay Audubon
Society is pleased to support this effort to restore the Bobwhites to
their natural environment. You may be able to see the quail when you
visit the Preserve if you look carefully from the pathways into the
grass. The quail are most active in the mornings and in winter they
congregate near the feeders located near the main house.
Click the photos to enlarge and read captions
Photos courtesy of Carol Jansch
Sunday, June 5, 2011 -
Northern Bobwhite Quail Family program at Brookside
Click the photos to enlarge and read captions
Photos courtesy of Juliane Wohler
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - Into the Flight Pen
On Wednesday, 25 May 2011, the Northern Bobwhite Quail chicks
graduated from their brooding pens to their flight pens. One would think
the door to the outside world opened and the chicks would run happily
out. Not so! The chicks need to be gently herded out the door, which
isn’t an easy task while balancing on the thin beams that hold up the
mesh floors. Add to that the aroma of 640 chicks pooping, the heat of
the brooding lamps, and their high-pitched warning calls and well…you
get the picture.
Bobwhite Quails when frightened will explode in a frenzy of jumping,
flapping, and all out trying to escape. This is very dangerous for the
birds in the confined area of the brooding pen. Cathy Wilvert takes
great care in avoiding such explosions. With time and a lot of patience,
all the chicks were in their flight pens. Now began the chore of
cleaning out the brooding pens and the rescue of one little chick.
One chick managed to find himself under the mesh floor of the
brooding pen. No one knows for sure how he managed to escape but Cathy
suspects that when the chicks first arrived and were the size of a
quarter, he popped up and into the wider mesh on the walls separating
the two brooding pens. Plenty of food fell down to him because he grew
along with the rest of the chicks. His problem was the hardened, poop
booties on his feet. With much soaking, Cathy was able to wash his feet
clean and off he went to join the rest of the chicks in the flight pen.
Click the photos to enlarge and read captions
Photos courtesy of Judy Davis
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - Northern Bobwhite Quail Chicks
Thanks to the Environmental Office personnel at Connetquot River
State Park Preserve, the museum now boasts special Northern Bobwhite
Quail posters, designed by Annie McIntyre. The “feathers” on these quail
posters contain the names of all the generous Adopt-A-Quail
participants. One feather was created for every quail chick adopted. Why
not stop by the museum and find your special feather.
On May 4th, seven hundred day old Northern Bobwhite Quail chicks
arrived at their new home. A team of six volunteers worked quickly to
remove the chicks from the packing crates, give each chick a few drops
of fortified water by hand, and place them under the warmth of the
brooding lights. It is amazing to see how tiny they are at a mere 1/5 of
an ounce!
By May 13th, the chicks were already big enough to graduate from
their “baby” pens to an intermediate area within the brooding house.
Soon they will be ready to move to the flight pen where they will grow
stronger before their release into Connetquot River State Park Preserve.
Click the photos to enlarge and read captions
Photos courtesy of
Carol Jansch and Judy Davis
April 16, 2011 - "Help Feed the Quail" Berry Bush Planting
Click the photos to enlarge and read captions
Photos courtesy of Randy Schmitt
The cold, damp
weather didn’t stop our volunteers from spending their day planting 100
berry bushes at Connetquot River State Park Preserve. The bushes will
become a natural food source for the Northern Bobwhite Quail.
After a
morning of planting, volunteers Jody Banaszak, Judy Davis, Meg Newman,
Elena Salina, Aimee and Randy Schmitt, Edith and Bob Wilson, and Cathy
Wilvert were treated to a home made ziti lunch thanks to Cathy and Megan
Wilvert.
With full stomachs, we returned to work creating fencing around
each plant to protect them from being nibbled on by the deer. We
finished up just as the rain arrived.
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