To my astonishment, I heard a Northern Bobwhite call its name 3 times about
7 AM this morning near the intersection of 673 and 674 in western
Albemarle County.
It seemed to be high in a tree on the south side of the road alongside a
pasture that, remarkably, has actually not been mowed (yet, anyway).
Kitty-corner to this field was another field that, I was very sorry to see,
had
been cut for whatever reason and contained short plant growth not attractive
to the quail.
It's sad that so many fields are mowed, quite often so the owner can get a
tax break from government under agricultural use (i.e. "haying"). I
don't know why we can't get more folks to use their fields for conservation
purposes. I feel it has a lot to do with people's need for "orderliness",
fear of snakes, other people's perceptions of them if they don't cut, etc.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to overcome these biases that are so
harmful to our wildlife, I would love to hear them.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Marlene
