Neighbors raise safety concerns after rescuing baby quails inside storm drain in Solvang

SOLVANG, Calif. - Several quail chicks rescued days ago are finally returning to the wild in Solvang.

Listening to calls from the others, these highly social birds make their way back to their family.

“They were a little hesitant at first, but eventually heard some other quail in there and felt comfortable enough to fly back into the wild," said communications manager Rachel Mattovich of the Santa Barbara County Wildlife Care Network.

For years, small quail have become stuck inside a neighborhood storm drain.

“The birds walk across here… they fall through the holes because they’re so small and they’re so young that they still can’t fly … so they end up down in the bottom … and the mothers and fathers are making noise to try … because they lost her little ones," said resident Happy Peltcher of Solvang.

This nesting season, neighbors found several quail chicks stuck at the bottom of the drain.

It’s too deep for them to get out on their own.

So neighbors teamed up to rescue them.

“I was feeling sad for the parent who was running around … and the babies were separated from the mama … we got a rescue team ... as I said this happened many times," said resident Z Jiroutova of Solvang.

The wildlife center is now used to getting called out for quail rescues.

"I’ve definitely come out here for quail calls a handful of times over the years … and most of the time this amazing community have already rescued the quails … but can’t find mom or dad," said director of rehabilitation Brittany Rickman of the Santa Barbara County Wildlife Care Network.

One of the main concerns for the wild life team is safety.

“Somebody potentially getting hurt trying to get these babies out of the drain … or the little ones getting hurt trying to get rescued," said Rickman.

The wild life team plans to continue working with this neighborhood for any future wildlife in need.

But neighbors remain concerned about theses storm drains.

Now, they’re reaching out to the City of Solvang for a solution.

"It would be nice if the city would come in and step up … and it doesn’t take much … just put some like chicken wire or hardware cloth underneath," said Peltcher.

Newschannel 3 reached out to Randy Murphy, the city manager.

He said he is currently working with the city on possible solutions.

In a statement, Murphy said:

"We are aware of the community concern regarding the baby quail and have been discussing the situation internally in an attempt to assess the breadth of this issue within the City of Solvang, in order to be better equipped to move forward with any feasible plans to modify storm drains or other changes within the City. As we work through our options and conduct this research, we encourage residents and businesses to please contact the various wildlife networks in the area if they need help rescuing any form of wildlife that might be trapped in the storm drains or otherwise imperiled. We strongly advise that residents do not attempt to rescue the animals on their own, as they may be endangering themselves or others by their actions. We actually hope that this message being broadcast in the news might prompt more residents and businesses in other parts of the City to come forward, so that we can get a better understanding of other locations where this may be an issue. We are also attempting to find an efficient manner for surveying the rest of the City on this matter, while simultaneously weighing our options for a solution, even if only temporary. Although some suggestions have been offered regarding modification of the existing storm drain grates. we cannot retrofit them in an inappropriate manner, as they have been engineered to handle specific storm flows and altering them without proper evaluation could risk flooding or other unintended consequences during a rain event."

“Try and figure out some way of keeping the quail out … I think it will just be a nicer story for everybody," said Rickman.

Thanks to a community where family matters, the quail chicks can now cherish their own feathered family in the wild.