[mou] Northern Bobwhite

[Paul Hertzel]

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At 03:06 PM 8/6/03 -0500, Robert_Russell@fws.gov wrote:
>
>Just a couple of points about Northern Bobwhites that haven't been 
>brought out in recent discussions. . . . Taking a regional perspective, 
>it is interesting to note that the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas shows 
>a major concentration of quail in SW WI.  

To expand on this picture, the Iowa status is bleak in the northern half
of the state.  There has not been a report in the tier of counties that
borders Minnesota since 1989.  In that year, there was one report in 
Lyon County on the South Dakota border.  That population disappeared, 
and the population in the next county to the south has not been heard 
from since 1997.  

In general, reports in the northern half of the state raise eyebrows.  In 
2000, Jim Fuller wrote in Iowa Bird Life that a single report in Buchanan 
County ( ~75 miles from MN ) was unusual for its northernly location.  
In 1995, Jim Dinsmore wrote that a summer bird found in Black Hawk 
County ( next door to Buchanan County ) was somewhat north of its 
usual range.  

I have lived in Cerro Gordo County ~30 miles from the MN border in 
central Iowa for 4 years, and have not seen or heard one here or in any
northern county.  I do not believe there are any natural populations 
very close to Minnesota.  A local report about a month ago found its 
way to a DNR official who responded by wondering which game farm
it was released from.

Paul Hertzel
Mason City, IA

  

  

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