Mel, If Gambel's Quail were seen at Fountain Creek or anywhere else on the front range, they would be birds that escaped from captive breeding. Not only do some people raise exotic (non-native to an area) quail for fun but also for training hunting dogs. Last year the Colo Wildlife Commission approved allowing hunters to bring their own quail onto State Wildlife Areas to train their hunting dogs on these state owned properties so they may also escape from these training sessions. Also several hunting groups are always pushing DOW to transplant various quail (and other) species into areas in which they are not native. Several years ago I spotted a Chukar in Canon City and thought I'd lost my mind--I asked around and found they were raising them at the prison, not far where I saw it.
That said, non-birders and novice birders identify rare birds at an exceptionally high frequency and based on characteristics that have not been identified as field marks. It's not a put down to non-birders and novice birders, but they have not developed the skills necessary to identify birds they aren't familiar with. If Gambel's Quail had been around the Fountain Creek Nature Center (which gets a good amount of birder traffic) long enough to have babies, don't you think that some birder would have spotted them? I had a non-birder friend report seeing a nesting Bald Eagle in Lake County. One would think that even non-birders should be able to identify Bald Eagles. He said it was large and had a white head; however it turned out it was actually an Osprey. When I was in So Texas last spring I got a good laugh on a sighting list for a lynx at Santa Ana NWR (on the border with Mexico), a species never recorded in the whole state of Texas from 1842 to 1998 records--staff said it was likely a bobcat, a species that is documented there. And I have had people in Canon City pick out a photo of a Sandhill Crane from a field guide then point out a Great Blue Heron, believing them to be the same bird (well both species are tall, grayish and with long necks). Are you aware that Northern Bobwhites, which bear some resemblance to a Gambel's Quail, are found in El Paso County? These are also colorful birds though without a head plume sometimes referred to as a "topknot", but they do have a crest. Beverly, the CFO County Birding checklist for Huerfano Co lists Scaled Quail as the only quail species for your county. SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 4:22 PM, Goldi Loucks <[email protected]> wrote: > For what it is worth...I used to occasionally see these quail when I lived > off-grid (about 9000'), about 11 miles west of La Veta (at the edge of the > San Isabel Nat'l Forest. Also...the birds *are* listed on the CFO birding > checklist for Huerfano County, too. > > Way cool you saw them there!!! > > Beverly Jensen > www.RuralChatter.blogspot.com > > P *Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail* > > --- On *Tue, 7/28/09, Mel Goff <[email protected]>* wrote: > > > From: Mel Goff <[email protected]> > Subject: [cobirds] Fountain Creek Nature Center Question > To: [email protected] > Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 3:05 PM > > > This morning Jeanne and I went to Fountain Creek Nature Center south of > Colorado Springs . When we get there we always check the board to see what > has been sighted. > > One line listed 2 adult and 2 baby Gambel's Quail. Naturally, we were > skeptical, to say the least. > > About 45 minutes later, a guy on a bike stopped and asked us if we were > birdwatchers. What gave us away? The binoculars or the Tilley hats? Anyway, > he said he wanted to describe a couple of birds he saw back up the trail. He > said they were bigger than robins and had a topknot. Just for fun, I showed > him a picture of a Scaled Quail. He said, "That is kind of similar, but the > birds I saw were more colorful and the top was different. So, I showed him a > picture of a Gambel's Quail and he said "That's it! No doubt in my mind." > > We walked to the area he mentioned, but did not see the birds. We did not > hear any quail, although they might not be calling right then. > > Here is my question. Do I report this sighting? I cannot find anything > that shows Gambel's Quail in this part of Colorado . Could they be escaped > birds? Do I report them on my eBird entry? > > Things that make you go hmmm... > > Mel Goff > Colorado Springs > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
