Quail Chicks in the Courtyard

Quail Chicks Hatched

      A pair of Gambel's Quail made a nest in the blue flower pot this year.

   I couldn't get a good count, but it looked like 10 or 12 hatched.  I never could get all of them in the same photo.  They're very fast!

I hope they come back next year!

Quail Chicks in the Courtyard

Quail Chicks in the Courtyard

     I was working in the casita this morning when I heard the clucking of a Gambels Quail family. When I looked out my window I saw them scurrying around the plants.  Quickly I grabbed my camera.

     These little guys have feathers so they are a few weeks old. When they're first hatched they look like fuzz balls on stilts.  They zoom around the yard following their mom and dad at an amazing speed.  I've never been able to get a picture of them at that stage. They're invisible against the gravel, which is probably best.  We have owls, hawks and other predatory birds here that would love a quail snack. 

     The adults are great parents. One leads the group and one brings up the rear.  They never leave the chicks unattended. Once they were in the casita the male flew to the top of the wall to watch for danger.  

      They stayed ten or fifteen minutes hunting through the seeds and leaves. Some people around here pick up every leaf and seed that drops. Some even call it "litter".  

      As you can see, I'm not one of those people! I see seeds and leaves as part of the food chain.  Although looking at these pictures, I realize I could tidy up a little and still have a banquet of left overs for the wildlife.  Maybe I'll do that when it cools down. In the meantime I'm enjoying watching these guys feast.

       

  One of the adults, probably the female but I'm not sure.

A solo chick

I hope the quail enjoyed their breakfast and come back soon.

Early Morning at the Water Feature

Early Morning at the Water Feature

    It was a busy morning for a coyote, a few doves, and the Quail family.

The pictures were captured on my Trophy Cam from about 5:18 a.m. until 7:45 a.m. this morning.  

Quail Baby

 

 

 

 

        Earlier this year we had a nest of Gambel's Quail on our patio.    When the female quail first began laying her eggs, she would be all skittish and upset because we were frequently sitting nearby.    She would pace up and down, and both her and her mate would chatter.  He was especially loud and vocal about the intruders on "his" porch.   More than once we went inside so she would calm down and go on her nest.  

        Gradually she got used to us, I guess.   She would sneak into the patio quietly and get on her nest.   When she had laid about 10 or 11 eggs, she began coming in the late afternoon and staying all night.     We were always quiet and kept away from her, but she no longer seemed to mind us sitting there.  

         One day Kent saw that the eggs had hatched.   Only half of them, unfortunately, and neither the chicks nor the parents were around.    For days we didn't see them.  When we finally saw them, there was only one chick left.

         Today she had the chick inside the courtyard while I was inside the casita.    I heard her outside and grabbed my small Canon camera.    Because I didn't want to scare her away, I snapped the photos through the window.    

 

 

So there she is, a tiny fuzzy Gambel's Quail. 

 

            

Quail Corner

   There's a new family in town.  Potentially, at least.   Kent found a nest of Gambel's Quail in the flower pot at the entrance to the courtyard.   This is right below the spot where the house finches nested earlier this year.   A popular spot.  

Gambel's Quail are interesting desert birds and very plentiful here.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambel%27s_Quail
They usually travel in a group with a couple of males acting as look-outs for the group.  Although they usually walk and won't fly unless startled, the sentry males will fly to the roof top to get a good look-see.   You have to admire that kind of dedication.

I didn't see as many baby quail as I normally see this year.  Last year we had a batch that nested in the courtyard in a larger flower pot.  They were hatched and gone within a day or two of Memorial Day.   This year that pot was empty.   So now we may be privileged to have some late-nesters.  

I counted 7 eggs today.  Usually they lay about a dozen or so, one egg a day.  Then momma quail sits on the nest for a while.  I'm not sure how long.  Suddenly in one day they all hatch and are almost immediately out running around.  The desert isn't a good place for tasty little creatures to linger too long. Lizards, coyotes, and bigger birds are always on the hunt.   In fact, we have two courtyard lizards that would probably eat the eggs if given half a chance.    

Newly hatched baby quail look like puffballs balanced on matchsticks.   They blend so well into the gravel that I have never been able to get a decent picture of them.   They grow rapidly.  

There was a batch that came to the water feature everyday earlier this spring.  While the chicks were very small, the adults kept them away from the water.   When they were a bit bigger and able to fly they climbed onto the top ledge to sip water that had pooled in the rock crevices.  We only run the water feature once a day, in the afternoon, but there is a trickle of water that flows continually.  That way the wildlife can drink without getting blasted off the water feature by the actual water falls.   Kent just installed this system recently, and the birds love it.

Right now I worry about whether this particular flower pot was a good choice.  It is right by the walkway that we use to come and go from the house.   We have been hunkered down avoiding the heat recently, but we still come and go through there.  Plus Kent walks by it everyday as he waters the plants.  I would think they could have chosen a quieter spot.   I'm concerned that they will abandon the eggs. 

But what do I know?   I have yet to hatch my first batch of quail.  Maybe Momma Quail does know best.  I hope so.