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Quail in the Okanagan Valley |
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Q: I am fascinated with the quail that come to my feeder. Can you tell me more about these birds?
A: The California Quayle is a member of Upland Game bird family that totals 22 species in North America. All are chicken like, ground dwelling birds that use dense cover in trees to roost at night. They forage mainly on plant material (seeds) and some insects and often form small flocks, called coveys. The quail has a distinguishing alarm and mating call and clucks as it feeds and walks about. A slender grey bird with a scaled breast, a noticeable black face, long tail and a "top knot" or forward leaning feather sticking out the top of its head. The female is browner in colour, lacks the black face and sports a smaller "top knot" feather.
The bird was introduced in 1912 into the Okanagan Valley and is abundant in the southern half of the valley as well as the Victoria. B.C. area. The climate in both locations is favorable to these birds. A long cold spell in the winter and or heavy snowfall results in a dramatic decrease in the number of quail. Predation by Coopers and Goshawks are another factor that keeps these birds in check. Large coveys of 50-100 birds begin to break up in March when pairing starts and mating occurs. Many nests are found in gardens, orchards and farmlands. The nest is a small depression in the ground lined with grasses, pine needles etc. with some natural cover. The ones I have found in my garden, have a sneak pathway to the nest, and covered with natural plant material.
Clutches range from 9 - 26 eggs and the incubation period is 22 days. Sometime heavy rains or overhead sprinklers destroy the nest and if it is early in the year, a 2nd clutch of eggs is laid. The downy young, resembling brown cotton ball with legs can be seen on the lawn, being supervised by both adults. They are fun to watch at this stage, but they soon develop flight feathers and increase rapidly in size. The mortality rate, however, is high. Family groups often amalgamate in August when most broods are fully-grown. By September the coveys have again formed and stay like that for the winter. I have had over 50 birds in a covey in my yard.
The birds, when disturbed, have an explosive and noisy take off and need some distance before gaining enough speed to maneuver. I have seen them fly right into an object before they fly too far. Often you can observe one adult bird, which seems to be on guard for the other foraging birds. If a Cooper's hawk moves into the vicinity, the guard bird will give a signal and they disperse quickly under the cover of bushes or into thick trees.
A most successful Christmas Bird Count was held in The Kelowna area December 16. The number of observers totaled around 60 and the number of species recorded was 110 - a record for Central Okanagan Naturalists Club with a few surprise sightings, including a Bewicks wren (normally a coastal inhabitant).
Pat Westheuser 2007-01 |
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