On July 3rd while prepping for our annual 4th trail ride, I saw two quail that were the first that I have known to be on the property since I was a teen. Well yesterday at the same location I saw two more or the same ones but also I saw two little bitty ones about the size of a ping pong ball. I would love to hear Bobwhite Quail whistling again. They are close to a nice patch of Lespedeza so plenty of seed.
And then...
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_0887.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1632597307)
I happened upon this lovely wild Cardinal Flower. The wonders of nature never cease.
I have a few come up on my creek bank in front of my house and try to weedeat around them. I really like them. Real pretty, vibrant colors. I hope yours seed and spread into a bigger patch.
thumbs-up
Great finds 8)
The return of the quail would be a real treat!
Both are great finds. I've always been amazed at the brilliance of the cardinal flower. Used to have a few here but I think extended dry periods over the last ten or twelve years wiped out their habitat. No quail now of course. Miss those too. Heard one last summer but turns out it came from a neighbor who had bought some for training his griffon. One day only for bob white calls. Haven't had a whipperwill here on years. Always liked hearing those at night when I was a kid. Long gone though.
Thanks for posting the cardinal flower pic.
We used to have a lot of Bob White quail but the fire ants seemed to have done them in. I seldom hear them now. In a few months, I expect to hear the whipperwills again. We do have sandhill cranes and will likely be getting more as the weather cools (still in the 90's today).
Have a good many quail. What made the difference is my prescribed fire management. In the Spring and early Summer I can hear as many as five whistling "bob-white" at one time calling for the girls.
There is a wild lilly here that only grows along the rivers and not every year. A lot was lost to hydro dams. It is multi branched. Never see it on pastures or abandoned places, just undisturbed river bottom land.
We have not had quail in my part of Texas for over 40 years due to the fire ant, But they did eliminate the army worm, and knocked down the tick population.
I heard bobwhite here several weeks ago. I always hear a few every year, but not like I used to. There is about 200 acres about 500 feet from my property that has been donated to the nature conservancy and they intend to do lots of stuff to bring back natural flora and fauna. I'm hopeful that will cause the quail to make a comeback on our place. I've never seen the cardinal flower...very pretty. But I did see the STL Cardinals get their 15th win in a row to make a new club record yesterday!!
Swamp Donkey, reading these posts and seeing the Cardinal Flower reminded me of one of my favorites, Turks Cap Lily, which is what you're talking about. (I think) I have never seen or heard a wild Bobwhite, but I think I'd take a real liking to them. My wife saw a hummingbird at the feeder today, seems late. On second thought, SD's lily might be Canada Lily, do the petals curl back ?