Date: 4/25/25 3:27 pm From: Ryan Winkleman via groups.io <rswinkleman...> Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] Rare Bird Alert (MOQU)
James,
This post escaped me at the time. I'm not sure who told you that it is unlikely or impossible to get Mountain Quail in Orange County but it's actually not very hard under normal conditions. I don't know the current status of all the fire closures but Mountain Quail is pretty easy to get if you hike up Silverado Canyon, I have had them hiking up Los Pinos in the past, and I have had them multiple times in Lower Trabuco Canyon. Looking in eBird, it looks like the most popular current place to get them is hiking up Coal Canyon from SR-91. Not a difficult species to get if you're willing to go into the appropriate habitat, which it sounds like you are.
--
Ryan Winkleman
Rancho Santa Margarita
