FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2017
MEDIA CONTACTS: Carole Trottere, Rebecca Cheng, Sam Marksheid, and Vicki DiStefano | (516) 869-7794
Town’s Quails to be Released to Control NH Tick Population
Public invited to quail release at Hempstead Harbor Trail on July 26
North Hempstead, NY –Over a thousand people watched North Hempstead’s quails hatch live on NHTV’s Quail Cam and now, after spending over a month maturing in Suffolk County, the quails are ready to fulfill their destiny as the Town’s secret weapon in combating ticks. The public is invited to join Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Eric Powers of Your Connection to Nature and other Town officials at the Hempstead Harbor Trail on July 26 at 10:30 a.m. to cheer on the North Hempstead’s quails as they are released into the wild.
“The release of our home-grown quails will certainly be an exciting event that no one should miss,” said Supervisor Bosworth. “These birds are our superheroes in the fight against ticks and the diseases they carry.”
The Northern Bobwhite Quail project is a pilot program designed by Ranger Powers, the host of the NHTV’s nature show “Off the Trail” and is a method to effectively reduce the numbers of ticks naturally, instead of using toxic pesticides. The quail were incubated from eggs in the Town’s TV studio. After the eggs hatched in late May, the baby quails were kept at the studio for about another two weeks, then transferred to Caleb Smith State Park in Smithtown Park in Suffolk County where they spent the next six weeks maturing.
Hempstead Harbor Trail is located at 175 West Shore but parking is located mile south of that location. Please arrive at the head of the trail about 10:20 a.m. for the short walk into the trail to the location of the release.