Wednesday, January 8, 2014

#9 Bobwhite


Northern bobwhite. Photo by Kristy Keel.

My Favorite Nature Moments of 2013.

When I'm pummeled by the wind of winter, away from my billet, cold and damp, I imagine a lush green woods in spring. Warm breeze. Fresh with new life. "Out of the cradle endlessly rocking." Yet, sometimes that new life is unexpected.

The 300-acres of Ijams is mostly wooded, the few open areas we have are small, so imagine my surprise when former AmeriCorps member Kristy Keel found a northern bobwhite at the Lower Overlook on the Homesite; more or less at the edge of the forest, walking along a trail just like any other Saturday afternoon visitor.

No one on staff had ever seen a bobwhite quail at Ijams!

Bobwhites are not woodland birds, plus their population numbers have dramatically dropped in the past 40 years. Seeing one anywhere is special, especially eye-to-eye. 

For more of this quail story, click: Bobwhite in June.
 

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