I just came home from dinner and saw 2 Mountain Quail by my front deck. They ran into the brush but as soon as I was inside, they came out again and began foraging around a dead, rotting stump. It was fun watching them kick up the leaves and even settle down right outside my window, resting motionless for a while. I notice that they are on Audubon's watchlist, as their habitat is declining. My property is full of alder and dense thicket, and it has a water source (spring). I wonder what the chances of them nesting here are!

Marian Murdoch
Belfair, WA
marianmurdoch at yahoo.com