Counting Quail in the Mountain West
Klamath Falls, Oregon is a land of sunshine and ancient volcanoes, pastures and marshes, fields and lakes. Mount Shasta dominates our southern horizon, and Carter Lake National Park -- the remnant of an exploded volcano -- is 60 miles north. The centerpiece of what we call "the basin" is Upper Klamath Lake, 30 miles long and 8 miles wide.
With the lake being 4,100 feet above sea level on the Pacific flyway for migratory birds, numerous species lay over for food and respite every spring and fall.
By the end of April the evening grosbeaks had swarmed in and out, the starlings arrived and the robins had been around for weeks. They don't visit our feeder, but they make great use of the bird bath, fluttering like avian dervishes in apparent ecstasy.
When the white-crowned sparrows joined us for the summer, juncos and mountain quail made themselves scarce. Hummingbirds arrive later in May, but warblers flitted among the wild plum bushes like particles in a cloud chamber.
One group of permanent residents throughout the year is the California quail. They visit our ground feeders two or three times a day. We don't often see them otherwise, but we hear them constantly. They live in the brush, pecking the leaf litter, quarrelling, chattering with a sound like pebbles skipping on thin ice. And always, often from an elevated and concealed sentinel's post, one or more of them repeat a loud call that I can render only as WHEE-WE-WEE! WHEE-WE-WEE! I puzzled for months over what bird could make such a racket.
The plumage of these birds is subtle but lovely. As seems to be the case with most birds, the males wear the flashy duds. Except for his gray breast and bluish/black chin, you could describe the look as "mottled underbrush brown." It must serve them well because I have yet to find a dead quail.
At feeding time the quail run out of the brush singly, stopping frequently to see if all is clear. Their forward drooping plumes give them a comical aspect, making them look as if their center of gravity is too high and too far forward. One at a time they'll sprint the few yards from bushes to feeder until a dozen or more are contentedly picking and scratching at the millet and cracked corn I spread for them.
The quail are panicky birds and will, with a great swoosh, fly into the trees at the slightest noise or movement, all on the same trajectory. Even the babies, hardly bigger than chicken eggs with legs, fly like that.
Cheery Robins Are All Around
The American robin is one of the most recognized birds in North America. That's because robin distribution parallels human distribution. And preferred robin turf -- park-like habitat with scattered trees and short grass -- pretty much describes our typical urban as well as rural home sites. So we live together.
More than any other aspect of a robin's life, we are in tune with its song. Loud and clear, the robin's "cheerio, cheerio, cheeriup, cheerio" is one of the most recognizable backyard songs. And it is one of the earliest, usually beginning before dawn.
Robins are handsome gray thrushes with a rusty breast, streaked throat and prominent but incomplete white eye ring. Males are darker than females with a near black head and more intense rust on the breast.
The American robin is the largest of the thrushes and is found throughout North America. In recent years it has been expanding its range in both directions -- breeding farther south and wintering farther north.
Robins enjoy a varied diet of soft insects, spiders, earthworms and other invertebrates, as well as fruit, which makes up more than half of a robin's diet. They especially like berries and eat more fruit during winter than summer. Berry-producing trees and gardens can act like magnets to attract robins.
Robins love earthworms. Watch a robin standing in your lawn. Notice that it frequently cocks its head before grabbing a worm. Head cocking was once thought to maximize hearing, but is now considered an adaptation to focus their eyes on prey. Because robin eyes, like those of other birds, are so large, they are crammed into the orbit space they occupy and are generally immovable. In order to focus on an object, therefore, birds have to move their heads, tilting in different directions until the object falls on the right spot of the retina.
Notice that when a robin grabs a worm it doesn't immediately yank it out. Experience has apparently taught robins that earthworms with their posteriors still in the ground can hang on, and the resulting tug-of-war will often result in the worm being pulled apart.
If you have robins nesting in a particular part of your yard, chances are good that next year you'll have them again. Robins are well known for returning to previous territorial sites, if they are available. Young robins also show preference for habitats where they were hatched and raised.
Robin nests usually are located from 5 to 20 feet above ground and generally are built on horizontal branches or building ledges. Nests consist of grass and small twigs mixed with mud, especially at the base. They are lined with fine grasses. The female does most of the nest building and then incubates three to seven light blue eggs while the male feeds her on the nest.
Commonly, the male tends the fledglings while the female lays eggs for a second brood. Newly fledged robins have a spotted breast that is characteristic of all thrushes.
Sometimes, when friends are faithful, we tend to take them for granted. Such is the case of the robin. The next time you see or hear a robin, notice the striking pattern of the male or the more subdued coloring of the female. Watch their behavior. They truly are backyard favorites.