The Recipe for Bobwhite Quail, Turkey, Songbirds, Pollinators and So Much More. A presentation by David A. Bryan, Private Lands Wildlife Biologist for the VT Conservation Management Institute.

1. EARLY SUCCESSIONAL
HABITAT
The Recipe for Bobwhite Quail, Turkey, Songbirds, Pollinators and So Much More…
David A. Bryan
Private Lands Wildlife Biologist
VT Conservation Management Institute
Quail Action Plan

3. Outline
 Definition of Early Successional Habitat
 Declines of Early Successional Wildlife Species
 Examples of Species Directly Impacted
 Northern Bobwhite Quail
 Songbirds
 Pollinators
 Development of Habitat on Your Land
 Problems and Solutions

4. So What is “Succession”?
Natural Progression of Plants over Time
Early
Successional

5. Early Successional Habitat
 The plant community that emerges after land is
set back to a bare ground state
 Looks “messy”
 Primary Components:
 Native Weeds
 Wildflowers
 Native Grasses
 Thickets
 Shrubs

6. So Why Does This Habitat Even
Matter to Us?
Let’s Look at the Wildlife

7. Northern Bobwhite
By Bob Schamerhorn, iphotobirds.com

8. The Decline of Bobwhite
 Global Population as of 2007: ~5.5 Million
 An 82% Decline from ~31 Million in 1967
 Misconceptions – Hunting,
Predators
 Why?
 HABITAT, HABITAT,
HABITAT!
 Other relatively small issues

9. Declines in Virginia

10. Declines in Virginia

11. Declines in Virginia

12. Declines in Virginia

13. So the Quail Aren’t Doing Well…
What About the Songbirds?

14. Prairie Warbler

15. Indigo Bunting

16. Gray Catbird
By Bob Schamerhorn, iphotobirds.com

17. Field Sparrow
By Bob Schamerhorn, iphotobirds.com

18. Grasshopper Sparrow
By Bob Schamerhorn, iphotobirds.com

19. Eastern Towhee

20. Eastern Kingbird
By Bob Schamerhorn, iphotobirds.com

21. Eastern Meadowlark
Web Photo, Gene

22. Breeding Bird Trends by Habitat Type
BBS Data: Eastern United States (1966 - 2005)

23. Breeding Bird Trends by Habitat Type
BBS Data: Virginia (1966 - 2005)

24. VA BBS Results: Grassland Birds
Grasshopper Sparrow Eastern Meadowlark
Brad Sillasen
-1.9% /year -3.0% /year
pastures, hay fields

25. VA BBS Results: Early Successional
Birds
Northern -3.78
Bobwhite
Yellow Warbler -3.75
Field Sparrow -3.08
Gray Catbird -2.37
Eastern Towhee -1.65
Indigo Bunting -0.67
Shrub/scrub, old fields,
ROWs, regen. clearcuts

26. Other Species Impacted
 Pollinators
 Bees
 Butterflies
 Bats
 Other Insects
From www.hiltonpond.org
 Hummingbirds
 Extremely Important for Food Sources
 Helpful to our Native and Ornamental Gardens

27. The Common Denominator:
Early Successional Habitat
 Why is it a Decreasing Habitat?
 Clean Agriculture
 Decline in Family Farms
 Sprawl
 Wide variety of species
 Northern Bobwhite Quail
 Eastern Cottontail Rabbit and Small Mammals
 Pollinators – Butterflies, Bees, Hummingbirds
 Migratory and Breeding Songbirds

28. Case Study: Quail Management
 What do they need?
 Remember – Quail Habitat is Important to
Other Species

29. Food
 Chick Diet: Largely Insects
 Pick wildflowers:
 Plains and Lanceleaf Coreopsis
 Black-eyed Susan
 Partridge Pea
 Goldenrods
 Coneflowers
 Primroses
 Native Sunflowers
 Plant large plots, not just patches
in a garden, for best results

30. Resources for selecting native plants for pollinating insects:
“Pollinator Syndromes”
Pollinator Color Shape Scent
Narrow tube with
Butterflies Bright, red & purple spur, wide landing Faint, fresh
pad
Pale & dull, red Strong, sweet,
Moths Regular or tubular
purple, pink, white emitted at night
Bright, white, yellow,
Shallow, landing
Bees blue, ultraviolet red, Fresh, mild
platform, tubular
purple, pink, white
Regular, bowl-
Dull, white, green, Strong, musty,
Bats shaped, closed
purple emitted at night
during day
Large, funnel-like,
Bright, red, orange,
Birds cups, strong perch None
white
support
www.pollinator.org

31. Food cont.
 Adult Diet: Mainly seeds and
fruits from legumes, shrubs,
trees, crops
 Wildflowers
 Partridge Pea
 Crops
 Soybeans
 Millets
 Not the limiting factor, so don’t
spend all of your time on food
plots alone

32. Habitat Needs
 Desirable Grass, Forbs and Legumes – Seeds and Insects
 Early Successional Vegetation – Brooding/Nesting
 Woody Covey Headquarters – Protection

33. 1st Element: Nesting Cover
 Ideal Nesting Cover –
Herbaceous cover consisting of
bunch grasses with forbs and low
growing shrubby cover with the
last year’s grass growth available (at
least 12” tall)
 Little bluestem, big bluestem,
indiangrass, sideoats grama,
broomsedge bluestem, ragweed,
native forbs.
 Also benefits nesting songbirds,
rabbits, wild turkey, white-tailed
deer (for bedding), etc.

34. BENEFITS OF BUNCH GRASSES
Cooper’s Hawk’s Eye-View
Quail’s Eye-View

36. 2nd Element: Brood Habitat
Ideal Brood Habitat – Plant
community (at least 40% of the
area) made up of annual forbs,
legumes, and weeds. Must contain
bare ground (25-50% exposed soil)
underneath a foliage canopy.
Brood habitat will contain insects
which are the most important food
item for nesting hens and chicks.

40. Bareground with
Good Canopy Cover

41. 3 Element: Covey Headquarters
rd
 Consists of woody shrubs, low-growing trees,
down tree structures, feathered edge.
 Ground cover within Headquarters must be
sparse.
 50 ft. X 30 ft. at a Minimum – 1,500 sq. ft.

42. Edge Feathering

45. What Limits Wildlife Use on Your
Property?
Let’s Look at a Series of
Problems and Solutions

46. Problem:
fescue
From smallfarms.oregonstate.edu

47. Fescue field border
with woody cover
“ The Great Quail
Barrier”
Also bad for Rabbits, Cattle, Mares,
etc.
Solution: Kill the Fescue, Go Native

48. Converting Fescue to Native Grasses
 Best way to convert is a fall/spring system
 In September, hay the grass to take off old
growth and wait for it to grow up to 6 inches tall
 In October, hit the fescue with 2.0 quarts per
acre of glyphosate (e.g. RoundUp Ultra®)
 Next February, prep the field for planting
 Prescribed burning
 Dragging with a Chain Harrow, Log, etc.

49. Converting Fescue to Native Grasses
 Decide on second herbicide spray
 Option 1 – Wait until grass re-emerges and grows to 6 inches;
spray with glyphosate at 2.0 quarts per acre; burn or drag
 Option 2 – Plant and then spray with imazapic (e.g. Plateau®
or Panoramic®), a pre-emergent herbicide at 4.0 oz/acre
 Plant native grasses in early March
 Use native grass drill
 Use regular drill with a special native seed box
 Broadcast with a carrier (e.g. pelletized lime) at a rate of 20:1
if planting burry seeds
 All depends upon species you are using
 Maintain!

50. Herbicide
April 2004
May 2005
August 2005
(Harper et al. 2007)

51. Problem: Limiting factor on most
land is shrubby cover and
diversity!
Solution: Plant Native Shrub Islands
or Hedgerows, Do Edge Feathering
Suggestions: Winterberry Holly, Northern
Spicebush, Indigobush, Chickasaw Plum, Black
Chokeberry, Red Chokeberry

52. Problem:
Habitats Spread Far Apart,
Little Connection

53. Solution: Interspersion

54. Woody Headquarters
Grain,
Forbs,
Grasses
Forbs, Legumes &
Grasses

55. All habitat elements close together
Woody Headquarters
Grass: Nesting
Early-Successional: Crops

56. ..And All Components as
Close Together as Possible!
Woody Covey
Headquarters
Shrubby
Cover
Native Warm Season Grasses,
Forbs and Legumes: Nesting and
Brooding

57. Problem:
“I want to help but I can’t give up large
expanses of cropland, hayland or
pastureland for the wildlife”

58. Solution: Field Borders
Minimum of 35 feet up to 120 feet can be very helpful to wildlife… can be native
weeds, native warm season grasses, shrubs or a combination

60. Forest
Soft Edge
Trees/Shrubs
Tall Grasses
and Forbs
Short Vegetation
& Bare Ground

61. Problem:
I Created All of this Habitat
10 Years Ago – What
Happened?

62. The Native Grass Delusion
Myth: Install and We’re Good
Fact: Unmanaged native warm-
season grass fields will contain little
brood cover (bare ground) and will
eventually convert into forest

63. Solution: Regular
management will maintain
grass, forb and legume “food
groups” and essential

64. Disking
 Disturbs soils
 Removes or chops
litter
 Annuals need soil disturbance
 Provides plant diversity
 Promotes bug diversity

65. Prescribed Burn
 Another Important
Management Tool
 Certified Burn Managers
 Burn on a rotation
 1/3 of the habitat each year
 Promotes areas of bare ground
 Prime bugging areas

67. Shrubby Cover
REST
BURNED

68. Conclusions:
What to Do?
 Native Warm Season Grass Plantings
 Field Borders
 Meadows
 Conversion of Fescue to Natives
 Shrub Plantings
 Regular Disturbance of Early
Successional Habitat
 Prescribed Burning
 Light Disking

69. What’s Next?
 If Interested in More Information
 Contact James Barnes at PEC
 Contact Me:
 David.Bryan@va.usda.gov
 (540) 899-9492 ext. 101
 THANK YOU!
 QUESTIONS?