TN-birders, Weighing in with my penny and a half (I don't know if I know enough to contribute 2 cents worth), I would agree with Terry Witt. Clearly from everything I have seen and read in the past 10 years indicate that both these species (along with plenty others - Rusty Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warbler, etc.) are in a notable population decline. In the case of the Northern Bobwhite, you can throw in Fire Ants to the equation (predating on the newly hatched young). I have heard other people complain about the vanishing hedgerows as well. I think most of the time, any one of the factors mentioned already would be enough to seriously tip the scales against a species' survival, but when you combine multiple factors, it seems to me to be just a matter of time (in some cases possibly decades, but in others, maybe far less) before the species will succumb totally. None of us want that. Maybe it's time for us as a group to start making some serious noise about protecting these two species. I have heard of programs in other areas of the country that credits farmers with leaving part of their land as good habitat by some means (like giving them tax breaks, etc.). Maybe TWRA or some other agency that has oversight on land use can encourage folks to leave some hedgerows and a few corners of their lands untouched. I personally don't know much about hunting laws, but maybe the hunters can hunt Mourning Doves more (since they seem to be reasonably common) and let's have a moratorium on Bobwhites for some years and see what happens??? I know this might seem a bit eccentric, but how about trying to err on the side of caution for a change?? A short story - in 1999, Dollyann and I were priviledged to look for and see the Hawaiian Crow on the main island of Hawaii. At that time there were only a pair (past breeding potential) and a lone male left in the wild. When we saw one of the pair, I got the overwhelming feeling I was staring, point blank, at extinction. It was NOT a pleasant feeling. In fact, we were some of the last folks to see this species in the wild, as I learned a few months later that none of the birds in the wild (3) were being seen anymore. I never looked at any bird the same again. We simply can't take anything for granted when it comes to our natural world and the wildlife (and for us, the birds) ever again. As a prominent ornithologist in Thailand once told me, "It's a war on wildlife". I'll just go ahead and apologize if I sounded too preachy in this email, but the continuous bad news gets to me sometimes. Great Birding to all, Ron Hoff Clinton, TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________