California quail habitat

quail hound

quail hound

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I thought I would start a post on the different types of habitat California quail use. They are quite an adaptable bird found from sea level up to 5,000 ft or so. They call everything from coastal forests to the desert, from riparian zones to oak savannah, and creosote scrub to sage flats. I'll update this thread as I pursue quail in their different types of habitat and give descriptions of them.

To start here is a riparian buffer I hunted today on a local river. Elev is about 250ft with irrigated crop land on each side (mostly almonds and Alf alfa). Habitat consists of Mayberry, Elderberry (a preferred food for quail), Willow scrub and trees' wild berries, rose thickets, assorted grass and weeds and rag weed where you're lucky. Here are some pics.

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I saw two Ca quail just north of Santa Cruz within 200 yards of the ocean.

My guess was that they were homeless.
 
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Some of the cover is over my head and could probably stand to be burned.

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OldDublin said:
I saw two Ca quail just north of Santa Cruz within 200 yards of the ocean.

My guess was that they were homeless.
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They must have been drifters following the pacific coast trail.:rolleyes:
 
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Wow, Thats some thick looking cover. Your shots must have to be snap quick. thanks for sharing the pics.:)
 
jmac said:
Wow, Thats some thick looking cover. Your shots must have to be snap quick. thanks for sharing the pics.:)
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Jmac, we refrain from shots where the cover is to thick for the dogs to mark down. Its really only one type of plant that gets that thick and tall but quail will use it for escape cover and it's not easy for the dogs to find a single air washed bird in it. Some of the stands of it are big and you'll get a way into it and regret it.
 
quail hound said:
Jmac, we refrain from shots where the cover is to thick for the dogs to mark down. Its really only one type of plant that gets that thick and tall but quail will use it for escape cover and it's not easy for the dogs to find a single air washed bird in it. Some of the stands of it are big and you'll get a way into it and regret it.
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Qh,
that is what I was thinking. Even if you get a shot, finding the downed Quail would be a problem. I bet the quail use that cover for escape cover. I would if I was a quail.:D
 
Very interesting post. Do you find Ringnecks in that cover?
 
FLDBRED said:
Very interesting post. Do you find Ringnecks in that cover?
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I wish, I hear the stories of when they were as thick as quail in the river. 20 years ago there were pheasants there but now they're gone. Back then it would have been all row crops being grown out there but now it's mainly almonds which make poor cover. About 10mi south there is a remnant population that could grow back to the river following the sloughs and canals if we could reach out to the farmers.

Here is a pic of a nice rooster quail I took in the river last year.

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quail hound, you crack me up! Great pics! Flat land hunting with big brush. We find sometimes with quail it is 'ack-y-trot' as we call it. as the state bird of Calif. "doesn't fly .it jogs."..You look like your hunting in a river bed. How do you see? How do you mark downed birds? That's got to be really hard hunting! Have you jumped any big animals ?
 
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Tombstone17 said:
quail hound, you crack me up! Great pics! Flat land hunting with big brush. We find sometimes with quail it is 'ack-y-trot' as we call it. as the state bird of Calif. "doesn't fly .it jogs."..You look like your hunting in a river bed. How do you see? How do you mark downed birds? That's got to be really hard hunting! Have you jumped any big animals ?
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It's not all that tall and thick. I try not to shoot at birds the dogs won't be able to mark. There's a lot of deer sign down there but we've never jumped any, just the occasional coyote.

Here's a pic of the pups after a river quail hunt.

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Here is a typical "foothill" area JP and I hunted today. Its mixed oak grasslands and chaperelle with granite out croppings and a few digger pines. Find a draw with good out croppings and oak scrub and you will find quail.

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This time of year the quail won't neccessarily be near guzzlers but early in the season you can bet on birds being close to one of these, especially in dry years.

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We moved 3 coveys today, two of which flew straight over the fence to private property and one offered some decent shooting. Of course I have to add the obligatory happy, tired dog pic.

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Did you see any quail at Gray Lodge this year? I got into two coveys on the second-to-last weekend of pheasant season.

It's pretty much the same thing all over up here – you get one chance on the covey rise, then they're in the giant blackberry thickets, which are absolutely impenetrable for man or dog (or coyote, fox, etc.). I firmly believe that without those blackberries, the quail population in this part of the state would plummet.
 
ditchparrot19 said:
Did you see any quail at Gray Lodge this year? I got into two coveys on the second-to-last weekend of pheasant season.

It's pretty much the same thing all over up here – you get one chance on the covey rise, then they're in the giant blackberry thickets, which are absolutely impenetrable for man or dog (or coyote, fox, etc.). I firmly believe that without those blackberries, the quail population in this part of the state would plummet.
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We moved 5 coveys on the eastside one day but I hate shooting at them while I'm pheasant hunting. I had a shot on a big tom bird too but I was to far from my truck and didn't want to lug him out. Glad I didn't because I had a chance at a double just a little later. I only got one but if I had been carrying that tom I probably wouldn't have got a shot off.
 
I've found that even in the thickest briars (my dogs get into all but the nastiest) if you hang out long enough and mouth the noise of a flushing quail you can usually make them nervous enough to get them to flush again, that is as long as the briar isn't out on an island.:thumbsup:
 
I didn't get any pics of it but there was more pig rooting up there than I've ever seen. The hogs must be hitting ut hard at night. The mast on the oaks was very heavey this year and the pigs have already cleaned up almost all the acorns that fell. Its no wonder there are hardly any deer around the lake anymore.
 
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