Vol. 16, No. 11 
Page 2 
(b) As with the Graded Roadside Program, volunteer participants that 
are widely scattered would result in difficult logistical problems connected with 
field operations and in thinly spread seedings. 
(c) The Volunteer Program would require the greatest public relations 
effort of the three seeding programs under consideration. 
Ecology and Management of Squirrels C. M. Nixon, 
S. P. Havera 
Two study areas on the Vermilion River Observatory near Danville were live- 
trapped for 10 consecutive days during late October 1973 to determine the size 
and composition of the squirrel population on each study area. Area A, 70 acres 
in size, has had nest boxes in place since March 1972; Area B, 60 acres in size, 
has no nest boxes. Estimates of population size were made for each area, using 
squirrel capture frequencies provided by the 10-day livetrapping period. 
Estimates indicate that populations have increased about 10 percent on Area 
A and remained static on Area B since boxes were placed on Area A. 
The number of young-of-the-year squirrels per adult female captured in live 
traps each fall has remained about the same on Area B but has doubled on Area A 
since box placement. However, young-of-the-year have been more abundant on Area 
B each fall. 
An additional response of the squirrel population to nest boxes has been 
an apparent increase in the number of gray squirrels on Area A since the place¬ 
ment of boxes on the area. Gray squirrels made up less than 10 percent of the 
squirrel population on the area in 1971 but now comprise nearly 20 percent of 
the trapped population and are frequently seen throughout the area. Whether 
this increase is due to nest boxes or to a general increase in gray squirrels 
along the Vermilion River is not known as yet, but gray squirrels have not in¬ 
creased on Area B during our study. 
Responses of Bobwhites to Habitat Manipulation J. A. Ellis 
Censuses of quail were made on the Forbes and Dale areas in late October and 
early November to determine the prehunt densities. Thirty-three coveys, 512 birds 
(21.0 quail per 100 acres), were observed on Forbes. The prehunt estimate for 
Forbes this year was 8 percent lower than the prehunt estimate for 1972, 22.8 
quail per 100 acres. The prehunt estimate in 1973 was, however, 7 percent greater 
than the long-term mean for prehunt estimates, 20-3 quail per 100 acres, and re¬ 
presented an increase of 400 percent from the estimated prebreeding population 
in 1973> 4.2 quail per 100 acres. 
Twenty-three coveys containing 361 quail (32.8 per 100 acres) were observed 
on the Dale Area during the prehunt census this year. The prehunt estimate was 
15 percent lower than that of 1972 (38-7 quail per 100 acres), was 2 percent below 
