Tuesday 29 December 2009

A Quail Tale

We have a resident pair of californian quail in the area. I often see the male perched up on a fencepost or similar perch keeping a lookout while the female feeds in the grass below.
She is rather drab in the manner of birds whilst he is a little dandy, with a smart checkered waistcoat and a feather in his cap. Hopefully we will see some young'uns one day soon. I once found a quails nest on a riverbank. I only discovered it because I nearly stepped on the Mum and she took off from almost under my foot. The babies were like furry bumblebees and not much bigger. I ran off to get my camera but when I returned I couldnt find the nest as it was just a tiny space way down in the long grass. I didn't risk looking for too long in case I put my clumsy foot on the chicks.
I took this photo out my dining room door one morning as the cocky little bugger was strolling by not more than six feet from Billy the Wonder Dog snoring in his basket. Handsome wee devil isn't he?

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