Game Bird Program

Did you know? Bobwhite reproductive behavior is complex! Brant Faircloth, Ph.D., discovered that 60% of the hens nesting on Tall Timbers had mated with 2 or more males when laying their clutch of eggs, a behavior known as Extra-Pair Paternity (See Graph). This means only about 40% of hens practice true monogamy. He also found that 30% of nests have eggs in them from a second female and male pair - a behavior known as intra-specific nest parasitism. Typically only 1 or 2 extra eggs are included, but occasionally many more are “dumped.”

Bobwhites are the premiere game bird in the greater Red Hills and Albany Georgia regions. Thanks to dedicated land stewardship in our area bobwhite populations are at historically high levels. However, outside of the bobwhite plantation belt this bird and its habitats are in serious trouble. In much of the Southeast, bobwhite numbers are only a small fraction of what they were only 25 years ago due to changes in land use and the reduction of frequent prescribed fire on the landscape. Given the importance of bobwhite to our area and its conservation value, we conduct a wide variety of research on projects to develop best management practices for bobwhites. At Tall Timbers we manage over 3500 acres of upland habitat for bobwhites. This makes our research station unique because we manipulate resources in controlled, replicated experiments to determine how management influences bobwhite numbers.

The study of bobwhites began right here with the co-founder of Tall Timbers, Herbert Stoddard. Between 1924 and 1931, he conducted research on the life history and management of the quail, publishing his monograph The Bobwhite Quail: Its Habits, Preservation, and Increase, in 1931. Mr. Stoddard promoted good habitat management through the use of fire and timbering to maintain healthy populations of quail. He recognized that quail were part of the larger natural system and he stressed the importance of understanding how other species interacted with quail. Today our program conducts research on Tall Timbers Research Station as well as on shooting plantations in the Red Hills and Albany Area, in south Florida on ranchlands, and in Alabama and South Carolina. We also provide management advice on public lands in Florida (UERP) and private lands across much of the southeast.

Our goal is to provide bobwhite enthusiasts with the best information on how to manage bobwhites and other important wildlife species. Much of our research is conducted by our own staff, but also with dedicated graduate students attending universities throughout the world. By attracting talented minds we ensure our program remains a leader in game bird management and ecology and provides the best information possible to game bird enthusiasts.

Our staff in the Game Bird Program would like to thank all of the dedicated supporters who have made this research possible. The advancement of quail research and management is directly due to you. We hope you find our research useful and educational.

Bill Palmer, Ph.D.