Since 1980, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has been
conducting calling routes in June to listen for northern bobwhites and
count rabbits. With around 150 routes statewide, most routes are
completed by DGIF staff, but we have a few dedicated volunteer routes.
Results from this monitoring are used to follow trends in quail
abundance similar to the Breeding Bird Survey, but with routes more
focused on Virginia and bobwhites. Unfortunately we lost some of our
volunteers last year (probably due to economic and other factors), so we
need some new people to step in and keep those routes going!
The routes are run once any time in the month of June. The first half
starts similar to the breeding bird survey, observers begin at sunrise
and drive a ten mile route stopping each mile for two minutes to listen
for calling quail. We also ask observers to record any rabbit sightings
they see while doing this part of the route. The last half involves
driving for 11 miles and simply counting the number of rabbits seen. The
route is usually finished in about an hour and a half.
The routes where we need volunteers are in the following counties:
Spotsylvania (1)
Louisa (2)
Stafford (1)
Hanover (1)
Fluvanna (1)
Campbell (1)
Anyone interested in participating please contact me at
Jay.Howell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:Jay.Howell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> .
Thanks,
Jay Howell
Small Game Co-Project Leader
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Jay.Howell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
