This week at the Manassas National Battlefield Park was the start of our bobwhite quail habitat surveys. Earlier in the internship we were finishing up Quail and grassland breeding bird surveys- listening for the birds themselves- however, now we are surveying the land itself to see how favorable the conditions are for bobwhite quail. Bobwhite quail are residents of the area that they choose to breed in, so the habitat needs to be suitable in all seasons. Bobwhites also require specific habitat conditions that will provide nesting cover, protective cover, food, and brood cover for broods and nesting hens. Although they require shelter from brush piles and low canopy, they also require about 25% of their habitat to be bare soil for easier mobility and so they can more easily find food. These habitat surveys will help the biologists at the park better create habitat management plans for bobwhites in the park.
This week we also worked on wetland habitat management using a weed razor. This was a really interesting - and fun, might I add- way to cut down cattails! This razor cuts the cattails down around where the water meets its stem. This will really weaken the cattails root system, so although they may grow back, they will not be as strong. Once they are cut down, or sprayed with herbicide, again, they will be even less likely to survive. The cattails in the pond grow starting at the edge of the pond and work their way inward, which will lessen the diversity of the ecosystem and limit what is able to grow and live there.
I attended a workshop this week called "trapping matters." This workshop taught people in the biology and conservation fields about trapping wildlife for reasons that might include pests, habitat management, or research. This was something I never even thought about doing when I got into this field, however sometimes to manage one species you have to control a different one. I learned at the training that there is a lot of strategy when it comes to trapping wildlife and it is a very labor intensive job. The foot hold trap that is seen in the photo below is a very common type of trap that is used for catching and relocating an animal. When the animal steps on the trap it will shut around the foot, causing minimal damage to the foot but keeping the animal in place. An important aspect of trapping is checking your traps often to make sure there are no animals in the traps.