Rio Rancho firefighters urge residents to leave baby quail alone

Rio Rancho Fire and Rescue said it is seeing baby quail calls across Rio Rancho as quail season begins, and crews are telling residents to keep their distance. The department said on Facebook, “It’s baby quail season!” and added that it responds to baby quail rescue calls “quite often during the summer months.”

Fire officials said quail families are on the move and young chicks can become separated. Their message to Sandoval County residents is simple: leave young wildlife alone unless there is a clear need for help, so parent birds have a chance to find their chicks and move them along naturally.

The advice comes from a department that handles much more than animal calls. The City of Rio Rancho says its Fire and Rescue Department has 146 men and women serving residents, visitors and businesses in the community. Its listed responsibilities include fire response, emergency medical or trauma incidents and technical rescue.

That broader rescue work has included small animals in tight spots. In one separate incident, Rio Rancho firefighters pulled ducklings from a storm drain after heavy rains, after a concerned citizen reported the birds were stuck. The call underscored how often crews are pulled into backyard and neighborhood wildlife situations in Rio Rancho, where new hatchlings can end up near homes, drains and sidewalks.

For families near open yards, arroyos and other common quail habitat, the key warning from firefighters is not to assume a chick needs to be handled. When adults are nearby, intervention can do more harm than good by splitting up a family that is already trying to regroup. As quail season picks up in Rio Rancho, firefighters want residents to recognize that many of these encounters end best when people step back and let the birds move on.