Click to Enlarge By “walking in their shoes,” I can see how animals might react to changes I make to the land. If their habitat doesn’t provide enough good food, quail will either die or be unable to raise chicks in the spring.   Walking in Quail Shoes by Kevin Slates, illustrations by Mark Raithel Get down to ground level to understand the needs of Missouri’s popular game bird. My father once told me that we can’t really understand others until we’ve walked a mile in their shoes. There is a lot of truth to that old saying, and it goes for wildlife, too. In my job as a wildlife management biologist, I learn what kind of habitats, or places to live, that animals need to survive. I answer questions like: What do they eat? Where do they sleep? And do they have any predators? Then, I make whatever changes I can to the land to make it better for those animals. By “walking in their shoes,” I can see how animals might react to changes I make to the land. If you know how an animal lives, and you have a good imagination, you can do this as well. Let’s see what it’s like to go walking in quail shoes. Habitat First, we must understand what is most important for bobwhite quail. They need to be able to move around easily while keeping a lookout for predators. They must also have protection from bad weather—especially in winter. Quail chicks are only 3 inches tall. If we put ourselves in their very tiny shoes, we can see that a quail’s journey through an overgrown yard would be like trying to walk through a 6-foot-tall stand of grasses for us. Although baby quail need elbow room, they also have to have places to hide, wait out storms, and rest. Adult quail need somewhere to lay their eggs. In other words, quail need coverin their habitat. Examples of good cover would be shrubs, old fields or thin stands of native grasses. Shrubs can look solid, but still have plenty of space for young quail to walk underneath. Areas with bare ground and weed patches would be perfect for a quail to dart in and out of. So would native grass because it often grows in bunches with space between. Food Our next step lands us smack-dab on quail food. We know that insects and seeds make up most of a quail’s diet. Field edges, wildflower plots and weedy patches are great seed providers. If I were a quail, that’s where I would look for my supper. Bobwhite quail need to eat well to survive hard winters. If their habitat doesn’t provide enough good food, quail will either die or be unable to raise chicks in the spring. Predators Are you ready to take a few more steps? We still have to consider the predators in a quail’s life. Quail predators range from the four-legged type that rob nests, to the winged warriors that rule the skies. A quail is always looking over its shoulder. The distance a quail must travel to find food and shelter, and how often it runs into predators, has a lot to do with how long it lives. Baby quail cannot fly and are in the most danger. Predators like house cats, bobcats, hawks, foxes, coyotes, dogs, skunks, raccoons and opossums will hunt quail or quail eggs. The best habitats for quail are those that give the birds more chances to avoid predators. Understanding wildlife If you want to help the wildlife where you live or just understand why animals live where they do, put yourself in their shoes. Start by asking yourself a few simple questions: Is there enough food and cover all year long? Are there places to hide from predators, raise young and get out of the weather? Is it easy to get around? How far will the animal have to travel to find food? And, are there too many predators? Keep in mind that habitats are always changing. Trees and shrubs grow a little bigger each year. Open fields may get smaller as woodlots and field borders get wider. Trees that were once healthy may have died and become places for predators like raccoons and hawks to live. Changes to plant and animal communities happen all the time. While some plants and insects are available in the spring and summer, others don’t show up until later in the year. A habitat that was once perfect for quail can change in just a few weeks. As a wildlife management biologist, it is a challenge to balance all these pieces of the puzzle. And really, it’s impossible to do it perfectly. There will always be times with more or less food, times with too much or too little rain and times with more predators than usual. People use and change the land too, and this makes it harder for animals to live in some places. See if you can imagine the lives of other animals like we’ve done with bobwhite quail. Some may have the same needs, but others may be very different. For now, I think I’m going to kick off these funny-looking quail shoes and try on some “predator goggles.” Words Worth Knowing Habitat is a place where an animal can live and find what it needs to survive, such as food, water and shelter. Predators are animals that catch and eat other animals. Cover is plants, trees and other materials that can be used for nesting and raising young, as well as protection from weather and predators. Native grasses are grasses that have grown in an area through history and work best with the local land and weather.