When you think of animals faced with extinction, the majestic lowland gorilla and black rhino may immediately come to mind. Yet in your own backyard the Northern Bobwhite quail, named after its distinctive “bob, bob-white” mating call, is being similarly threatened due to habitat encroachment and a growing number of predators. Because of this, the seventh grade teachers at Community Middle School are participating in the “Quail in the Classroom” (QIC) program hosted by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife to raise awareness and take action against quail extinction.
Last April CMS became home to 108 quail eggs, with each seventh grade science classroom eventually caring for around 20 quails. Hundreds of students were given a chance to observe the quails and learn what they could do to help them survive in the wild. Students kept journals of their “Quail in the Classroom” experience, culminating with a PowerPoint presentation.
One of the main teachers involved in bringing this program to CMS was Jeanne Weinmann, Team 7D’s science teacher at CMS.Weinmann explained that this project was started to promote “growth and awareness of the quail, why [students] should care, and what sort of support is available [for these creatures].” Mrs. Weinmann posed this question to her students: “We still need places to live; we still need places to go shopping and to get food. But is there a way that we can balance it out to still live with things like the quail?”
The results of this year’s efforts were encouraging as 68 out of 108 quails survived until their release in June — a major improvement from the previous year, when only two quails survived. One of the new techniques that helped the quails survive this year was a special incubator that frequently rocked the eggs from side to side. The students were also more careful when handling the quails and didn’t try to care for as many quails at once.
Learning with two cages of birds in each classroom might have been distracting, but the students quickly got used to the quails’ presence. The birds fit on the built-in shelves in the back of the classroom. Students also said the quails did not smell, and their calls were not very loud or intrusive because the quails were just hatchlings.
Students prepared food, cleaned cages, and retrieved water for the birds. The quails in the classroom were spoiled compared to their wild counterparts; the students crushed up seeds into a very fine powder and even filtered the birds’ water. Students said it was a rewarding learning experience to be responsible for a living creature.
For students, the most difficult part of the project was letting the quails go, knowing that only 15 percent of released quails survive their first winter. Currently the quails in New Jersey are released at the Collier Wildlife Management Area in Jackson, where they are protected from hunters and have adequate grassland habitat. Even with these extra efforts, however, the quail population is rapidly declining.
The reason for this decline in population is no mystery. According to the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife, Bobwhite quail populations have been decreasing since the early 1900s. Suburbanization and the rapid expansion of America’s population are stunting the lives of quail by shrinking available grasslands and forests needed by the quails to live, nest, and mate. Coupled with this trend is the population increase of natural predators such as owls, raccoons, dogs, and domesticated cats. Predations have elevated the mortality rate of quails to 80 percent of their population. Now there are creative programs in place like New Jersey’s “Quail in the Classroom” program that aim to make a difference.
The students of CMS are making a difference towards helping the quails. In June around 400 seventh graders left CMS understanding the problems quails face and the importance of keeping the environment suitable for both animals and humans to thrive safely and healthily together. If your school would like to participate in this program, please visit www.quailintheclassroom.org.
Palmer and Ranji are rising eighth graders at Community Middle School.
