StrongDog Kennels

04/22/2025

As prescribed-fire season winds down, bobwhite nesting season has now started in parts of their range and will soon start in the Red Hills and other regions like East Texas. Thanks to the tireless effort of graduate students, biologists, and research technicians who track radio-tagged bobwhite daily, the Western Pineywoods Quail Program was able to compile this web map featuring nests from bobwhite translocated to East Texas. The web map, featuring 119 nests from 2023 and 2024, includes photos and is georeferenced to burn blocks. Click on map points to expand metadata and photos. During these two years, most nests were laid in blocks burned the previous year. However, nests laid in blocks burned the same year had higher nest success. https://talltimbers.maps.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=1994291664004ac9b74d3da26b3898c7

03/17/2025

Here’s a snapshot from the National Military Fish and Wildlife Association Meeting, where we joined discussions on conservation across the nation’s military installations:

To support habitat restoration, installations are encouraged to implement CIP Focus Area monitoring protocols—a science-based approach to tracking and improving wildlife populations.

Conserving wildlife and supporting military readiness can go hand in hand.

03/01/2025

02/24/2025

The 2024/2025 winter was usually harsh in the Southeast but to give bobwhite quail the best chance to thrive, considering cold weather takes year-round dedication.

02/18/2025

Trivia answer – "Palustris" of Longleaf pines's scientific name, Pinus palustris, is from the Latin word "palus," which means of marshes or swamps.

This may surprise those who associate longleaf pines with sandhills based on the remaining longleaf acreage we see today. However, much of the original longleaf landscape was flatwoods and savannas with poorly drained soils.

Longleaf is less tolerant of “wet feet” than some other southern yellow pines but can withstand occasional flooding. Young longleaf are more sensitive to flooding than larger trees so establishment in moister sites may occur in drier periods.

W.G. Wahlenberg (1948) summed it up best: “Longleaf tolerates boggy soils as well as dry sands, and this enables the species to persist over a wide range of habitats.”

📷 Longleaf pine saplings in standing water around the perimeter of an ephemeral wetland. Sites like this are not directly connected to water sources such as rivers. Instead, the basin fills from precipitation – usually wet in the winter and dries out during the summer. Photo by Ad Platt.

01/26/2025

First Learn 2 Burn of the year!

On Saturday, February 22nd, the PBA will be hosting it's first Learn 2 Burn in south Grady county. This will be an excellent opportunity for burners of all experience levels. We hope to see you there!

(RSVP in Comments)

01/21/2025

We're proud of the work we're doing with our state, private and NGO partners to continue encouraging while also trying to limit smoke impacts. Check out this great article explaining a big project we've been working on for the past couple of years with Tall Timbers, a Research Station & Land Conservancy: https://talltimbers.org/articles/smoke-management-and-air-quality-in-quail-country/

11/21/2024

Purple Martins won’t return to Tall Timbers until late January, but when they do, they’ll find beautiful improvements to their housing thanks to Jody Walthall and Native Nurseries of Tallahassee

Jody attended a birding event at Tall Timbers last summer and saw the old setup with 6 gourds. A few martins were swirling about, but he knew numbers could be improved, and maintaining the set was likely a pain because gourds could not be raised and lowered easily.

A local golf course donated 6 Martin setups to Jody a few years ago, and he said he had one left to share. It took just a few hours to replace the old system (seen lying on the ground). In addition to more nest sites, the new setup also has guards to protect against Great Horned Owls and other avian predators.

11/06/2024

Settle in and listen to an audio version of this year's Quail Call as well as an in-depth discussion of the 2024 hatch report with Tall Timbers Game Bird Director Dwayne Elmore.

10/04/2024

The majority of a deer's diet comes from native plants. Consider breaking free of the annual planting of food plots and managing the landscape with fire.

10/02/2024

It's almost that time of year folks! The weather is starting to cool off and coveys are starting to form!

Bobwhite quail will spent the winter months grouped up in coveys to survive the cold nights, limited food, and predators. As we move into fall, bobwhite quail will start forming coveys, making their "Koi-lee" call to find each other. This call you may not be as familiar with and may not realize it's a bobwhite. This call is often confused with the eastern towhee, who is also an early riser! Bobwhite will make this call primarily around sunrise or before. This means a lot of early mornings for our staff and volunteers conducting covey calls on state and private lands around Georgia!

📸 Credit: UGA Gamebird and Managed Ecosystems Lab