When Christmas Bird Counts revealed that the quail population in San Francisco was plummeting, the Golden Gate Audubon Society (GGAS) launched its Save the Quail campaign. Together with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Presidio Trust, GGAS has developed a quail recovery plan with an initial focus on the Presidio, home to the largest remaining quail population in the city. The project has begun its second year of habitat restoration in the Presidio. If you’d like to pitch in—clearing ice plant; planting native shrubs, forbs, and dune plants; or piling brush for quail cover—contact Alan Hopkins at (415) 664-0983.
In the early 1990s, there was not a quail to be found at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. But thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers guided by East Bay Regional Parks naturalist Dave Riensche (a.k.a. Doc Quack), there are now at least 25 quail—more than halfway to the goal of 40! Spring and summer volunteer activities include monitoring quail, planting native forbs and grasses, and counting chicks that hatch out. Call Doc Quack at (510) 544-2319.
Contra Loma Regional Park in Antioch is in the early stages of a quail project. On Earth Day, 2002, volunteers will help install a water tank and fence an acre to protect it from grazing. Then the plot will be ready for removal of ice plant, planting of natives, weeding, pruning, and so on. If you’d like to help out, call Volunteer Coordinator Sharon Saffas at (925) 756-0195.
