Fall Field Day at Pineland Plantation draws large crowd

The cold weather didn’t deter the almost 300 attendees at Tall Timbers’ 2011 Fall Field Day, held November 4, at Pineland Plantation, near Newton, Georgia.

Aubrey Iler

After welcoming the crowd, land manager, Aubrey Iler, discussed the history and management goals of Pineland Plantation. Pineland Plantation is one of the largest of the premier quail plantations in the Albany Area and sports some of the best quail hunting in the world. With frequently burned pine uplands and fields encompassing 20,000 acres, Pineland’s sheer size presents unique management challenges – brood habitat alone requires harrowing 3,000 acres each year! However, with a state-of-the-art management program and attention to detail, Pineland has averaged over 7 coveys per hour hunting during the last 15 years!

Clay Sisson discusses Albany Quail Program research at Pineland

Pineland is also home to the Albany Quail Program, which is celebrating 20 years of research and conservation. Fall Field Day attendees heard about the knowledge gained from collaboration among researchers and managers that has helped to define modern quail management in the Southeast, resulting in dozens of publications, and producing a lot of birds.

On the wagon tour , Albany Quail Program Director, Clay Sisson discussed some of the highlights of the research conducted on Pineland; and he and Tall Timbers’ Game Bird Program Director, Bill Palmer talked about the quail hatch forecast from Albany to Tallahassee. Also on the program was Dr. Eric Altom with Eukanuba, who presented information on how nutrition, kennel management and conditioning affect bird dog performance and scenting ability.

Fall Field Day Photo Gallery

Under the tent

On the tour

Dr. Eric Altom

     

Bill Palmer, Game Bird Program Director
     

Pineland Swans

Pineland Plantation

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