Quail Lodge consists of a private golf club and a residential neighborhood. Birding is done on the public access road: Valley Greens Drive which starts at Carmel Valley Road and ends at Rancho San Carlos Road. There are four freshwater ponds visible from the road. The bridge over the Carmel River is accessible to pedestrians, as well as golf carts. One can park inside the neighborhood and walk the streets.

Birding is best in the winter when ducks fill up the ponds. Keep an eye out for Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, and Ruddy Duck.

In good raptor weather, Golden Eagle, an occasional Bald Eagle, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, and American Kestrel are possible.

Search the pepper trees for sapsuckers in winter: Red-breasted, and the rarer Yellow-bellied, have been recorded. Green Heron is resident and breeds here. Migrant landbirds, including vagrant warblers, have been attracted to the river-edge riparian corridor and to patches of willows or ornamentals around the Lodge.

This is a golf course so watch out for errant balls. Stay off the greens and out of the way of the golfers.