There certainly are Mountain Quail in the north end of Kitsap Peninsula.
I've now lost the address of some folks living in that region who have made
their property into a wildlilfe refuge and invited birders to come visit
them. I went there several times, took a jar of bird feed from their
supply, spread it out on one of the paths, and sat back to watch the birds
come out and feed on it. A little flock of Mountain Quail would commonly
come in to feed where they were easily observed. I haven't thought about
this place for several years, and in fact I'd be grateful if any of you know
where it is and could post the information. I remember writing to Tweeters
in the Good Old Days about the place, saying that I felt a bit uncomfortable
inviting strangers to come visit someone else's home, but the folks I'm
referring to were always friendly and hospitable.

Burt Guttman guttmanb at evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA 98505 360-456-8447
Home: 7334 Holmes Island Road S.E., Olympia 98503


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wayne C. Weber [mailto:contopus at telus.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 9:31 AM
> To: TWEETERS
> Subject: RFI: Mountain Quail in WA
>
>
> Tweeters,
>
> Has anyone seen or heard any Mountain Quail in Washington this spring?
> I have seen a number of reports on TWEETERS of people looking for this
> species, but I do not recall any reports of anyone actually seeing or
> hearing one. (If I've overlooked one or more reports, sorry.)
>
> I have HEARD Mountain Quail in BC (where the species is now
> extirpated), WA, OR, and CA. Last year, in fact, I heard Mountain
> Quail at 3 different localities in OR (where the species is far more
> widespread than in WA). However, I have SEEN Mountain Quail only once,
> and that was 34 years ago near Atascadero, CA. I would dearly love to
> see another one (or more)!
>
> I recall that the old Port Orchard airport used to be a regular spot
> for finding Mountain Quail. Is this area now off-limits to birders,
> and does anyone know if there are still Mountain Quail in that area?
>
> If anyone has had any recent reports of Mountain Quail (i.e., this
> year as opposed to last year or the year before), I would appreciate
> hearing about it. Please post any replies to the entire group-- I'm
> sure I am not the only one who would like to see this species in WA.
>
> Thanks in advance for any responses.
>
> Wayne C. Weber
> Delta, BC
> contopus at telus.net
>
>