Aylmer WMA has 218 species on its bird list but Bobwhite is not on the
list.
And that's not for lack of reporting. We have birded the site 2 to 3
times per week year round since the late 1970s and have submitted 784
eBird lists since then. None of those lists have reported Bobwhite.
There has never been an established population of this species at Aylmer
WMA.
The species is considered to be extirpated from Ontario. There is no
official plan to release the species into the wild as far as I know and
if it were to be released that would most likely occur on Walpole Island
or somewhere in south Lambton or Chatham-Kent not at Aylmer WMA.
The birds are most likely escapees [or perhaps released deliberately to
get birders all worked up] from someone who has permits to raise captive
bred individuals.
Dave Martin and Linda Wladarski
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