Hello tweeters.

Today I was out exploring for dragonflies and had a great bird
experience. I was driving west from 118th Av. NW on 144th St. NW in
northwestern Pierce Co. at the base of the Key Peninsula (De Lorme p. 62,
A3), about 12:30 p.m., just coming up the hill from the stream that
crosses that road just after you enter it, and I saw a pair of quails
running along the road ahead of me, at the edge of a dirt bank. I
realized they looked rather large, and as I overtook them realized they
were Mountain Quails. I screeched to a stop with them right next to the
car (the dirt bank contained them), but the dust cloud that followed
obscured them greatly. I saw both adults fly up the bank and into the
dense Scots broom, followed by about a third-grown young bird (the young
ones can fly, of course).

That was a quite exciting, although brief, event, only the second time
I've seen the species in 32 years in Washington. The other time was near
Lyle, Klickitat County, in the early 70s and was just as surprising.

I believe the species is known to occur in that area, but here is another
specific locality for it. Of course that pair won't always be on the
edge of the road!

Dennis Paulson

Netta Smith and Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 528-1382