Nesting Ecology of Northern Bobwhite on a Working Farm

Abstract

ABSTRACTCreating early successional vegetation on working farms can increase northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) abundance with little reduction in crop production, but specific effects of field border establishment on bobwhite nesting ecology are not well understood. We monitored bobwhite nesting on a 1,740‐ha working farm with 19% of property managed for early successional vegetation in southeastern North Carolina, USA. We monitored 133 radio‐marked bobwhites from 1 April to 30 September in 2014 and 2015. We modelled nest‐site selection by comparing paired nest and random reference sites and modeled effects of habitat covariates on daily nest survival. Forb, shrub, and native warm‐season grass cover were greater at nest sites than reference sites with forb cover the strongest predictor of nest‐site selection. Bobwhite nested at a greater density in areas managed for fallow vegetation (1 nest/3 ha) than in planted warm‐season grasses and forbs (1 nest/5 ha). The daily nest survival rate over 2 years was 0.964 (SE = 0.007), and was not significantly influenced by any modeled covariate. Naïve nest success (nest successes/total nests) was 46.9%. The importance of forbs as nesting cover indicates bobwhite abundance in areas dominated by row‐crop agriculture may be limited by low nest initiation from a lack of herbaceous nesting cover. Hence, the creation of fallow herbaceous vegetation on working farms should be prioritized to increase bobwhite reproduction within agricultural landscapes. Furthermore, planting warm‐season grasses is not necessary because volunteer forbs and grasses provide as good or better nesting cover and can be less costly to establish. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.