As if I could do as well as the birds. But a couple of years ago, while sitting in the filtered shade of the oaks in Judith Larner's garden, I learned how to make a quail covey. This is a structure that anyone can build with a circle of fencing and any tall sticks and twigs that might be handy. These coveys serve as a place for the chicks and parents to duck into when taking cover from feral cats and dogs on the loose. And for the male to keep a lookout from its peak.
Last fall I finally got around to building one of my own. Not for my land, but for the Life as Art Foundation in Sonoma. When I built this it was pouring and my boots were trudging pounds of California clay, so it is a bit haphazard, built with anything I could find on the ground as well as as much Himalayan blackberry that I could harvest. But when I returned the next weekend there were sparrows singing in it and foraging for seeds so at least it was making someone happy. I like to think that some quail have taken refuge from the resident dogs as well.
