29 May 2008
Woodland Drive
Ogden
Emails, 29 and 31 May 2008, from Laurie Sprinks-Loevy to the Keith Evans
& Bill Fenimore:
Keith & Bill, this quail like bird was hanging out
with our Quail on Woodland drive last week. We had no clue who he was- he
looked sort of like the picture of a masked quail but as they are only
supposed to be in Arizona we weren't sure, so we decided to defer to the
expert. Can you help?
Thanks Laurie Spinks-Loevy
(31 May):
We had a masked quail in our yard on woodland drive in Ogden last week. We
weren't sure we identified him correctly as he is not supposed to be here
so we sent pictures to Bill [Fenimore]...to have his input. He
confirmed. We will upload the pictures later.
Ross & Laurie Loevy
Email, 30 May 2008 from Bill Fenimore to the Birdnet:
Laurie:
I agree that it appears to be a Masked Southwestern Bobwhite Quail. Where
was the bird seen on the Burr Trail? It is possible that it is an escaped
bird. Bobwhite Quail are sometimes used by hunters to train bird dogs.
Occasionally, one will show up that managed to survive training and escape
into the wild. However, they do not usually last long. Was this bird by
itself or with others?
Regards,
Bill Fenimore
Emails, 3,4 Jun 2008 from Mark Stevenson to the webmaster:
Hi Milt,
(3 Jun)
Since Masked Bobwhite IS a Federally listed endangered species, I think a
license would be required to legally keep them and they wouldn't be
released willy-nilly....but not everyone follows the law or there could be
intergrades....or..........?
We do see nominate Northern Bobwhite released by dog trainers in parts of
AZ (hopefully not where USFWS is trying to get Masked Bobwhite to thrive).
(4 Jun)
I passed the web link to the UT possible Masked Bobwhite on to someone
at the Buenos Aires NWR (here in SE AZ) where Masked Bobwhite recovery
efforts in the US are underway. As you can see below, acting Refuge
Manager and Masked Bobwhite biologist Sally Gall says the UT bird appears
to be a "Tennessee Red". More below...
Good birding,
Mark Stevenson
Tucson, AZ
Email, 3 Jun from Mark Stevenson to Bonnie Swarbric of the FWS:
Hi Bonnie,
I found this item mentioned on the Utah birders' listserv. Someone got
photos of a bird resembling a Masked Bobwhite in Ogden, UT in May.
It doesn't perfectly match guidebook images of the subspecies
but is pretty close.
[See pictures
below].
I would imagine that keeping an endangered species in captivity would
be frowned on unless the person were licensed.....and they'd
be unlikely to let one go.
Does this look like a genuine Masked Bobwhite to you?
Thanks,
Mark Stevenson
Email, 3 Jun 2008 from Bonnie Swarbric to Mark Stevenson:
Hello Mark,
Very interesting! Thank you for thinking of the refuge and its
efforts to save the masked bobwhite from extinction.
I have passed this on to both our senior biologist (Mary Hunnictutt)
and our manager Sally Gall), who is also a masked bobwhite
biologist. I've never seen a masked bobwhite with so much cinnamon
or so rich a color. But there is a lot of variation.
I just got a call this moment back from Sally. She suggests it is a
"Tennessee Red" -- a term used by bird breeders. We've been sent
images like this occasionally in the past. The form is probably a
mix of strains, with some Masked Bobwhite lineage involved. This
would be an escapee...
Bonnie
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Photos by Laurie Spinks-Loevy
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