I opened my greenhouse door the other morning and discovered seven bobwhite quail scurrying around and under our seeding tables. These sweet little birds are named for their distinctive call. Once ubiquitous on Martha’s Vineyard, the bobwhite inhabited many of the meadows and open fields on the Island, but in recent years the numbers have declined. This is in large part due to the fact that they are ground nesting birds and thus susceptible to predation from skunks and racoons.

Several Chappaquiddickers have begun raising and releasing quail in an effort to reintroduce the species while also fighting ticks; like guinea hens, the bobwhites eat ticks so the hope is that a stronger quail population will reduce the tick population. It was announced at an early-July Chappaquiddick Island Association meeting that nearly 300 quail were released this summer. Some have raised the concern that the quail may actually attract the lone star tick, a new species rapidly increasing in numbers on Chappy and parts of Martha’s Vineyard. Only time will tell, but for now, I am loving spotting the little birds around the Island. In addition to our greenhouse, I came across a covey of them amongst our flower beds at our field at Wasque Farm.

Margaret Knight was out hunting mushrooms in the woods the other day and heard a rustle close by. Two deer dashed through the understory and then a small spotted fawn emerged next to her. It walked right up to Margaret, who stood shocked as it reached its nose out and touched her hand.

There is a new flagpole at Chappy Point. The base was installed Monday morning and then Erik Gilley brought his fork-lift over to heave the pole into place that afternoon. The pole was once installed at the newly renovated Edgartown Wharf and replaced with a new one. Dick Knight and Peter Wells thought Chappy deserved our own flag pole and worked with the town to gain permission to place it here. Now all it needs is our own Chappy flag.

The Chappy Community Center hosted its second annual art night last Friday. Artists displayed their work on the porch and inside on tall panels set up for the occasion. There were many Chappy artists in attendance including Tom Osborne, Gail Rodney, Edwina Rissland, Avery Schuster, Kate Greer, Joan Kumpitch and Susan Phinney. It was a good turnout and a percentage of sales benefitted the CCC.

Pam Stenson, the new Community Center Summer Program Manager, was busy working the cash register that evening. I spotted her a few hours later at Chappy Point organizing a group of teenagers for an Edgartown scavenger hunt. She and Sidney Morris, the Community Center Coordinator, certainly have their hands full this year; never a dull moment over there. It seems like the Community Center has more events happening this summer than ever before.

Coming up on August 3, the Manhattan Chamber players will be performing at the CCC starting at 7:30 p.m. This collective of musicians hails from New York and, according to their website, has the mission of “performing the greatest works in the chamber repertoire at the highest level.” The next concert in the Chappy Music Festival series will be August 10 with bluegrass musician Jordan Tice performing.

There is another Chappaquiddick Island Association meeting coming up tomorrow, August 3. Coffee and treats start at 8 p.m., and the meeting starts promptly at 9.

That is all the news from our little island this week.

Send Chappy news to slipawayfarm@gmail.com.