I was reading in the latest issue of Quality Whitetails and was pleased to see an old buddy Will Ricks from NC State has landed a graduate project at the University of Georgia.  In the feature ‘The Signpost’, the writer explains that Will is going to be researching the impact of perennial food plots on songbird and small mammal populations.  I’m not sure of all his sponsors, but I know Quality Deer Management Association and UGA are backing him.  His research will be stratified between Northern and Southern field study sites and he is looking at food plots 1-5 acres in deciduous hardwood forest landscapes.  Here is where you may come in….if you visit his university-sponsored website and click on Project links, he has 2 .pdf’s soliciting help from citizens in the North, specifically in Pennsylvania/New York region. 

He needs some volunteers with songbird ID (both visual and call) experience preferably with some point count survey experience also to help out with his Northern field sites.  Additionally, he has a form that outlines the requirements for food plots to fit into his study design.  Generally, they must be perennial clover or chicory and exist in a predominantly hardwood forest.  He is looking for landowners to volunteer established food plots to his study.  If you are interested in volunteering or are just interested in his project, check his website out.  Quality Whitetails promises to keep its readers updated on the progress of the research and I’ll do my best to do the same.