June 16, 2013 After my post of June 9, I received several questions about Northern Bobwhites along the BBS route in Greene County. Here's additional information, which I hope will help create a better understanding of the species along the portion of Greene County represented by the survey route. I have run the route since 2001, so I have thirteen years of data on which to draw. Year, followed by number of stops where bobwhites were found, followed by stop numbers themselves 2001 (22): 3-5, 7-11, 13-15, 19-20, 22, 24, 26-29, 33, 44, 49 2002 (21): 1, 3-5, 7-9, 11, 13, 15, 18-20, 22, 24, 27-29, 32-33, 50 2003 (12): 7, 9-11, 13-14, 18, 20, 25-26, 28, 36 2004 (14): 5-6, 8-10, 13-14, 16-18, 26, 30, 45-46 2005 (10): 10, 22, 25-27, 29-30, 45-46, 50 2006 (16): 4-5, 10-11, 13-14, 16, 20, 26-29, 35-36, 39, 46 2007 (8): 5, 10, 14-15, 20, 22, 30, 36 2008 (5): 5, 21-22, 35, 49 2009 (3): 3, 27, 29 2010 (4): 20, 27-29 2011 (6): 6, 8-9, 11, 26, 30 2012 (3): 7, 28, 36 2013 (14): 4-5, 13-14, 16, 18-19, 24-25, 29, 35, 37, 45-46 Stop numbers where bobwhites were found, followed by number of years # 1 (1) # 3 (3) # 4 (4) # 5 (7) # 6 (2) # 7 (4) # 8 (4) # 9 (5) # 10 (6) # 11 (5) # 13 (6) # 14 (6) # 15 (3) # 16 (3) # 17 (1) # 18 (4) # 19 (3) # 20 (6) # 21 (1) # 22 (5) # 24 (3) # 25 (3) # 26 (6) # 27 (6) # 28 (6) # 29 (7) # 30 (4) # 32 (1) # 33 (2) # 35 (3) # 36 (4) # 37 (1) # 39 (1) # 44 (1) # 45 (3) # 46 (4) # 49 (2) # 50 (2) Over the survey period, bobwhites have been found at 38 stops. The habitat along these stops consists primarily of hay fields or grazed pastures bordered by overgrown fencerows, vegetated creek banks, fields reverting to forest, and/or mature woodlots. Houses and other human structures occur in close proximity to most of the spots where bobwhites have been found. The survey route as a whole can be described primarily as rural pasture and woodlots (some rather large) slowly being replaced by houses and occasional small subdivisions, with some of the pastures reverting to overgrown fields. Tobacco fields are present at a small number of stops. A few farm ponds also occur at the assigned stops. As the summary above indicates, bobwhites took a sharp dip in numbers beginning in 2007, and the total for 2013 represents a surprising increase over the recent past. I am unable to offer meaningful speculation to explain this . Given the steady decline in habitat, I would expect the opposite. Perhaps this year's numbers are merely an anomalous spike in a continuing downward trend. Don Miller Greeneville, Greene Co., TN