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McBee Study Shows Effect of Habitat on Nest Predation

The thinning of a stand of pine trees on McBee WMA in 2020-2021 provided an opportunity to study the effects of habitat on bobwhite nest predation. Using a "dummy" technique where bobwhite nests are imitated and stocked with chicken eggs, the biologists placed equal numbers of nests in good field habitat and in the pine stand prior to thinning. In the thick stand of pines, only 3% of the nests avoided predation compared to 57% in the good habitat.


Dummy quail nests at McBee WMA

Biologists repeated the study this year, again placing dummy nests in the good field habitat and the pine stand, which had been thinned to a basal area of 40-50 sq ft and burned every two years. Results were dramatically different in the thinned pines, with 50% of the nests surviving this time. Field habitat nest survival increased as well, from 57% to 77%, although the study did not consider this to be statistically significant.


The results show how important tree thinning is to creating good nesting habitat for quail. If you'd like to have a biologist visit your property and make recommendations on areas that would benefit from thinning, we provide this service at no charge. Call us at 803-734-3940 or email scbobwhites@dnr.sc.gov and we'll come see you.


If you'd like to read the entire study, which includes data and detailed descriptions of the methods, you can download it here:





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