As I have gone around the downs and the Salisbury Plain recently I have heard a few Quail calling. Very few people ever get to see this stunning tiny game bird and fewer than a hundred have ever been ringed in the UK. In recent years we have managed to catch and ring five which is a very good effort but if we are to learn more about this enigmatic summer visitor we need to continue to try and catch and ring more. Quail are covered under the Schedule 1 licence that I possess and also a specific endorsement is needed to be able to try to lure them with playback.
On 8th June I was joined by Jodie who has just joined the team as a trainee and after a good evening checking Tree Sparrow boxes we ended up high on the downs at dusk waiting to hear Quail. Sure enough we heard two, either side of the track we were on. We set a net and put the music on and within two minutes we had caught two males. Jodie is an extremely lucky young lady that the first adult bird she has ringed is probably amongst the rarest that she will ever ring but that's just the luck of the draw.
Two days later and I was joined by farmer James on the Salisbury Plain and we were very excited as when setting a box-net we heard four Quail but unbelievably not a single one of them responded. We tried another location and we did catch one there. We have no idea why they sometimes behave so rapidly and others do not respond at all but still, we have now taken the county total to 8 and we hope to increase it yet further soon. MP, JH, JW
