TRANSCRIPT:
Hello this is Dr. Tom Mullikin with SCDNR for Into the Wild.
At first light in an old field, you may hear a clear two-note whistle: bobwhite quail. It is one of the most familiar sounds in the South, but the habitat behind that call is easy to overlook.
Bobwhite quail need a patchwork of native grasses, weedy field borders, scattered shrubs, and open ground where they can move and feed. Their chicks depend heavily on insects during the first weeks of life, and brushy edges provide both food and quick cover from predators.
To us, a field edge may look untidy. To a quail, it can be a nursery, pantry, and shelter all at once. Sometimes good wildlife habitat is not neat or manicured. Sometimes the wildest-looking corner of a property is the part doing the most work.