Where The Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

Show us your photos of your green Cheverly. Animal, vegetable, or mineral -- all are welcome. Send to ssalo@capaccess.org. We will try to change the display on a regular basis.

Zebra swallowtail feeding on a butterfly weed in Cheverly yard, June 2013. Photo by Dave Kneipp.

What does this photo tell us?

The photo was taken in January 2010 during a survey of the Cabin Branch wooded wetland by the Cheverly Green Plan Science Advisory Committee. It is evidence that we still have northern bobwhite quail in Cheverly.

Northern bobwhite sleep on the ground, arranging themselves in tight circles on the ground to preserve heat with the heads facing outward to provide surveillance of predators. Their tails trap the heat from their droppings, which tell us where they have roosted. As the quail hunters say, "Where there's turds, there's birds."

The northern bobwhite quail population has endured a decline of more than 65% over the last 20 years throughout its range, mainly due to habitat loss. We last saw bobwhite in the Cheverly area in 1991.

Bobwhites need native warm-season grasses, such as switchgrass, bluestem, Indian grass and broomsedge, vegetation that offers nesting areas and allows room for other flowers and weeds that provide food by attracting bugs and dropping seeds. This kind of habitat also gives quail excellent winter cover to hide from predators.

Saving and restoring native grasslands and forests, and removing invasive species, will give these threatened birds a chance.

Have you seen bobwhite? Let us know: mtsalo1@gmail.com.