'Bob-white!' Call of the quail heard less often; farmers, hunters, conservationists try to help

The familiar call of the bobwhite quail might have become a thing of the past in the Eastern U.S. had farmers, bird watchers, hunters and conservationists not come together to save the ground-dwelling fowl. Still, its numbers have plummeted since the 1960s, by 75 percent in Tennessee alone, reports Anne Paine of The Tennessean. That's a drop of about 3 percent a year.

Initiatives have been started in Tennessee that many hope will rejuvenate the state's bobwhite population. Paine reports that farmers are starting to allow tall, native grasses, the natural bobwhite quail habitat, to grow along their fences; state officials have shortened the quail hunting season from 14 to 11 weeks; and Tennessee is now one of 25 states participating in the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.

Though some believe wild turkeys, raccoons and skunks are to blame for the lack of quail, the loss of tall, native grasses is the main reason for the bobwhite's decline, Paine writes. Replacing such habitat can attract other birds, such as prairie warblers and loggerhead shrikes, and pollinators such as bees and butterflies that thrive among the same grasses. Paine reports that there are programs, like the federal Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, which pays much of the cost of such measures. (Read more)