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What Is “Quail in the Classroom”?
What Is “Quail in the Classroom”?
As a part of our environmental science curriculum, SPFHS will be participating in a program to help raise Northern Bobwhite Quail. Eggs will be hatched in our class incubator and the chicks will be raised for several weeks before release into the wild in June. This approach helps to revitalize local populations of bobwhites and restore the species.
Quail in the Classroom provides students with a unique opportunity to not only model agricultural practices and study animal behavior, but also connect students with their environment and serves as a gateway stewardship experience for students. Through the program, students learn to see connections between human land use and the natural world. It is an opportunity to help conserve a species in perilous decline and protect biodiversity in our own backyards. The funding for our Quail in the Classroom program was provided by a generous grant from the EEF.
What Is A Northern Bobwhite Quail?
What Is A Northern Bobwhite Quail?
Northern Bobwhite Quail (sometimes referred to simply as “bobwhites”) are small, secretive birds easily identified by their round body, short neck and tail, stout beak and powerful feet and claws. They are reddish gray in color with mottled black and white spots and gray tails. Adults average 8 to 11 inches in length and 6 to 7 ounces in weight. The name "bobwhite" is derived from its characteristic whistling call. Habitat degradation has contributed to the northern bobwhite population declining by roughly 85% from 1966 to 2014. This population decline is apparently range-wide and continuing.
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