The Washington Bird Records Committee (WBRC) is the authority on questions
like this. They have maintained Northern Bobwhite on the state checklist
ever since its first publication in 1989 (Washington Birds 1:1-5). The
status-and-distribution summary for Northern Bobwhite in the "Annotated
Checklist" by Stepniewski and Opperman, although it has no official
standing, reflects the widely accepted opinion among the state's field
ornithologists: "Rare year-round resident of South Sound Prairies, where
populations generally considered self-sustaining, countable. Frequently
released in small numbers in other parts of state but rarely survives for
more than one or two seasons" (in A Birder's Guide to Washington, ABA 2003).

Hal Opperman
Medina, Washington
hal at catharus.net