The Town of North Hempstead released 100 Northern Bobwhite Quails into Hempstead Harbor Woods Tuesday to combat the local tick population.
“This release is special on so many levels,” North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said. “We’re not only controlling the tick population in an innovative and healthier way, but also reminding people that they aren’t distant from nature – they’re very much a part of shaping it. The quail are beautiful, and raising and releasing them gives those involved a greater sense of harmony with our environment.”
The purpose of the program is to help multiple town parks mitigate the tick populations through natural, non-pesticide methods.
The quails will eat the ticks, which DeSena said will help proect visitors from being bit by them. The supervisor still cautioned residents must remain vigilant in checking themselves for ticks and continue to be careful.
While the project aims to reduce the tick population, DeSena said it will also promote the local quail population.
The localness of the project goes beyond the release of the 12-week-old quails, starting at the very incubation of the tick-combatting bird.
Ranger Eric Powers of the Center for Environmental Education & Discovery, who leads the program, also manages an animal life cycle studies program at a dozen local schools where he sets up quail incubators.
Powers said 43 schools and libraries took part in the program and incubated 1,700 eggs. About 1,000 birds will be released over the year.
“Let’s get them out there and start eating our bugs,” Powers said.
The 100 quails released Tuesday were raised in Roslyn Height’s Clark Botanic Garden. The flight pen where they were raised was built by Plainview-Old Bethpage’s Eagle Scout Daniel Reilly of Troop 423 for his Eagle Scout project.
The North Hempstead quail program has been an annual occurrence over the past eight years. North Hempstead is the first municipality on Long Island to carry out a program of this type.
Powers said additional volunteers are always welcome.