More Baby Quail Released At Hempstead Harbor Trail to Combat Ticks

NORTH HEMPSTEAD, NY — Volunteers and town officials released more than 100 Northern Bobwhite Quail into the forest at the North Hempstead Aerodrome on Tuesday.

The town's tick-control program is now in its eighth year.

"We are trying to restore the quail population and also reduce the tick population," Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said at the event. "Doing it like this means we don't use pesticides."

Town officials and volunteers joined with Ranger Eric Powers, co-founder of the Center for Environmental Education & Discovery. Powers said 43 schools and libraries participated this year, incubating about 1,700 eggs and raising 1,000 birds to be released this year, including the 100 12-week-old baby quail released Tuesday.

The Town has raised Northern Bobwhite Quail for the past eight years to help several town parks
control tick populations without using pesticides.

North Hempstead is the first municipality on Long Island to deploy quails in stifling ticks, and the release is part of the town’s broader environmental initiative to use natural, non-toxic methods to control invasive species and disease-carrying pests, town officials said.

Powers, who is also host of the Town’s nature program “Off the Trail,” works with dozens of Long Island schools that set up incubators in their classrooms and raise the quail as part of an animal life cycle studies program that teaches science, environmental studies, and responsible stewardship.

“This release is special on so many levels. 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," DeSena said.

"The quail are beautiful, and raising and releasing them gives those involved a greater sense of harmony with our environment," she said.

These quail were raised in the Clark Botanic Garden quail flight pen. The flight pen was built by Eagle Scout Daniel Reilly of Troop 423 from Plainview-Old Bethpage as part of his Eagle Scout project.

At the event, Powers said they could use more volunteers to help incubate eggs.

People can visit www.CEEDLI.org to learn more about the CEED program.