Reintroduction of Northern Bobwhite Quail to Pennsylvania

• Shay Wilson, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Delaware

• Christopher Williams, Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware

Northern Bobwhite have faced widespread declines throughout their native range due to habitat loss. Once common in Pennsylvania, they were declared extirpated in the state by 2014. Bobwhite require a mix of early successional habitat and woody escape cover. When Pennsylvania began efforts to reintroduce bobwhite to the state, a roughly 1,500-ha heavily managed Bobwhite Quail Focal Area was established at the Letterkenny Army Depot. For three years, 83-87 bobwhite were translocated annually from Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia. Most bobwhite received radio tags and were tracked daily. Weekly vegetation surveys were conducted for each bird to determine habitat use and individual home ranges. Vegetation surveys were also done on all nests. Each point was paired with a randomly chosen control point between 50-100 meters away. I investigated how the survivorship of the 2026 bobwhites compared to that of past years. I also explored how home range size in the 2026 translocated bobwhite was affected by sex and the presence or absence of a nest. The 2026 bobwhite population displayed a higher survival rate than the 2024 population and a survival rate similar to or slightly elevated compared to the 2025 population. It is important to note that the 2026 monitoring season is ongoing; therefore, these comparisons are preliminary and are subject to change with additional data collection. Male bobwhites were found to have significantly larger home ranges (mean = 18.83 ha, n = 34) than females (mean = 9.11 ha, n = 37). As 2026 will be the final year of translocations at Letterkenny, this research will help managers understand the likelihood of population survival and persistence.