Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 20:18:15 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: David Mozurkewich Subject: Bobwhite in DC and PG In-Reply-To: <200107281700.NAA04606@umd5.umd.edu> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII I know nothing about Bobwhite release programs but some of the Bobwhite I have been hearing are 5 to 10 miles from the DC bird: close enough that natural dispersal does not seem entirely unreasonable, assuming of course, my birds are wild. The closest is at Oxen Cove; I've heard this bird from within DC and, starting July 1, I can usually hear it calling when I have been close enough to its haunt. I did not visit this site earlier this year but the habitat looks good for Bobwhite and I have heard them here other years. It seems reasonable to assume this bird is wild. The next ring of birds is at about 10 miles and includes Broad Creek, some agricultural fields just north of Andrews Air Force Base and the Patuxent Visitor's Center. I was told about this last bird but have not heard it myself. Then there are some more birds further away including Rosaryville State Park and some of the public land along the Patuxent, south of Jug Bay. Two of the birds along the Patuxent were silent when seen on June 9, they were not tame and presumably represent a bona fide mated pair of wild birds. Despite repeated visits, I only heard the Broad Creek bird on two dates, April 30 and July 19. So this bird did not suddenly show up in a new place; one of the trademarks of released birds. Although the habitat does not look right for Bobwhite, the bird is on the other side of the creek so there may be good habitat hidden from view. The rest of the birds were all in July in what looked like reasonably good habitat in places I only visited once. Other than knowing that Bobwhites are uncommon around here, I see nothing in this pattern that argues for released birds. None of the birds have pecked at my shoelaces nor have they asked for a handout in any other way. On the other hand, I have no argument against these birds being released except, perhaps, the geographically scattered distribution of records. So I will also ask Gail's question, "Does anyone know of a release program in this area, including dates and locations?" One of the things I love about birding is the opportunity it gives to speculate on topics I know practically nothing about. This is most fun when I am not constrained by lots of data. Here, the data consist of one record in April, one in June and 8 in July. The June birds were silent. So I speculate that in areas where the population density is VERY low AND limited by nest predation, Bobwhite are more vocal in July than in spring. Here's the argument We know that in some species, only the unpaired males sing in spring. We also know that in some species, the paired males sing more if there are other occupied territories nearby. Bobwhite are non-migratory. Presumably the pairs stay together all year. So when the population density is low and most of the adult birds are already paired off because predation is high, there is no need to sing in the spring to attract a mate and no reason to sing in the spring to defend the territory. But there could be reasons to sing in mid-summer -- to teach or herd the young or to defend the territory from the possibility of post-breeding dispersal from far away. I decided to ask the question about when Bobwhite are most vocal even though I suspect my argument is flawed; probably, I hear more Bobwhite in mid-summer because at that time of year I spend more time in Bobwhite habitat. Nevertheless, I think it's an interesting question. Dave David Mozurkewich Seabrook, PG MD USA mozurk@bellAtlantic.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================