This open letter is in response to Mr. Katz’s open letter that appeared in last week’s Blank Slate papers:
Dear Mr. Katz,
Thank you for your keen interest in the town’s quail program.
The town does not apply pesticides in any of its parks or along the Hempstead Harbor Trail. That is why we release our quail in these targeted areas.
As for guarantees that the quail will hunt and eat ticks in every part of the park, obviously, there is no guarantee that a wild creature will behave the way you hope. However, their nature is to eat insects, which includes ticks.
We release the quail in two areas of the town that provide the acreage and cover necessary for an optimum habitat—along the Hempstead Harbor Trail and across the street at the Hempstead Harbor Woods (200 undeveloped acres).
Again, there is no guarantee that the quail are going to hunt and peck across every inch of this terrain, but we are hopeful that they will explore their world!
We do not have any methods to induce the quail to hunt in particular areas of the woods.
Your question is a great one regarding the timing of the quail hatching and the “late start” as you say to start our tick eradication program.
The breeder that we get our eggs from doesn’t really start producing eggs for delivery until spring, so we are not able to order eggs in February even if we wanted to. The cycle of the quail also reflects that of nature. Most birds don’t start nesting and reproducing until the spring, giving their offspring time to mature and get strong before going off on their own.
As for your last question about tick eradication prior to the release of the quails in late July, this is our third year with the quail program, so we are hopeful and optimistic that the quail released each year previously are on the job all year long.
We plan to release our quail the last weeks in July and we hope you will attend the event. Watch our website, Facebook, and local papers for the day and time.
Judi Bosworth
North Hempstead Town Supervisor
