Ranger Eric Powers from the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery recently visited fourth grade students at Academy Street Elementary School for an educational workshop on the Bobwhite Quail.
During the workshop, students learned about the Bobwhite Quail’s vital role in Long Island's ecosystem, including its diet and importance in controlling the local tick population. The students also had the opportunity to see and identify different types of ticks and discussed the quail’s predators, including foxes and snakes, before meeting a live snake.
As part of ongoing conservation efforts, the students will actively contribute to increasing the Bobwhite Quail population on Long Island. In May, they will begin incubating and hatching approximately 150 quail eggs as part of C.E.E.D.'s conservation program. Over the course of 23 days, students will monitor the temperature and humidity in the incubator to ensure the eggs hatch successfully. At around 10 days old, the young quails will be moved to an outdoor brooding cage at Caleb Smith Park and released in July.
