We were driving by Crescent Lake yesterday (near Monroe) and got a close
look at a Northern Bobwhite. Bird was standing by the side of the road,
so we stopped the car, pulled up about 10 feet away, rolled down the
window. My wife got out of the car on the side away from the bird, and
she got to within about 6 feet before the bird displayed its crest and
darted into the underbrush.

Last fall, almost at the same location along the Crescent Lake Road, I
saw a Chukar, who was standing ON the road. I tried to scare him off,
since he was standing at a blind corner where people are always in a
hurry (as if there are roads where people are never in a hurry), and had
a devil of a time. Drove up within three or four feet of him, honked the
horn, yelled. I wondered if he was injured, but apparently he was just
happy to be there. We live a couple of miles away from Crescent Lake,
and one day earlier last summer we had a Chukar feeding in our duck pen.

Neither of these birds are really supposed to be around here --
particularly the bobwhite -- so I wonder if they are introduced in the
Crescent Lake area?

=Mark