Date: 3/31/25 9:53 am From: Maggie Rufo via groups.io <magwhls...> Subject: Re: [northbaybirds] Seeking information on California Quail breeding window
Thanks to everyone who has written me so far. I fear there is no good time for this activity. I will do my best to educate the people who do the work about areas to avoid and what to look out for. For the past two years we had goats/sheep, but that was not ideal either (the oak trees suffered). Prior to that the hill just got weed whacked for years. I never even saw any quail here until around 2014 when a single male arrived, he was solo for a few years and then one day a female was with him! A happy day. Since then there is a large flock of up to 30 quail in this area! I got on the board of this HOA (a truly thankless job!!!!) specifically so I could have an influence on activities that might be harmful to our wildlife community.
Maggie
From: <northbaybirds...> <northbaybirds...> On Behalf Of Lisa Krieger Personal via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2025 9:52 PM
To: <magwhls...>
Cc: Northbay Birds <northbaybirds...>
Subject: Re: [northbaybirds] Seeking information on California Quail breeding window
Hi Maggie, out here in Pt Reyes/Inverness we almost always see the chicks in June. Last year, there was a clutch of new chicks on June 14.
I was told they're late spring/early summer -- much later than other birds -- because there's more to eat after grass goes to seed.
In an effort to protect my beloved quail neighbors from the impending weed whacking of the open space that is part of the HOA where I live, I am interested in information anyone can share about how soon there could be quail nests on the ground. I’ve researched my copy of the original BBA, as well as looked at BBA 2 data online, but still don’t know an actual time frame for my area (Novato).
Currently the whacking is planned for June. I advocated for April, early May at the latest, based on my own hyper-local bird log of when I usually start seeing quail chicks (June, with a incubation period of 18-23 days according The Birder’s Handbook)). But, the landscape people say if they cut the grass too early it will grow back and then we they will have to do it again. The HOA will not want to pay twice.
Quail seem to lose most of their chicks as it is, so I’d hate for us to make to it worse. Sorry this is so long, but if any of the experts who study these things have time to weigh in on this, I would be grateful.
