Friday, December 24, 2021

Christmas quail

We have loads of quail around us. Often I see them on the snow, scratching to get down to the ground and search for something to eat.

Well it seems they've discovered a shortcut: the bird feeder. Today, for the first time, these plump birds were on the balcony, harvesting everything they could.

It started with two males and two females. I suspect that's just the beginning.

Handsome birds, are they not?

Darcy certainly thought so. Our upland bird dog watched those quail minutely, practically quivering with eagerness to get out there and introduce himself.

For their part, the birds kept a wary eye on Darcy, but didn't seem otherwise alarmed.

At first the smaller birds seemed too intimidated to compete with the much bigger quail hogging the feeder.

But that didn't last long, and soon enough the Cassin's finches and pine siskins were crowding around.

When everyone had eaten his fill, they departed and I let Darcy out on the porch to "guard" his territory.

Just doing his part to keep the porch quail-free, you understand.

"You know they're never going to leave," Don warned. "And they're going to end up looking like beach balls."

He's right. I have a feeling some of these fat quail are going to get a lot fatter this winter.

5 comments:

  1. Yummy fried quail and eggs.........

    ReplyDelete
  2. Quail are such fun birds to observe. Thank you for sharing the pictures of them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. May you and yours have a blessed Christmas. Thanks so much for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cali Quail are beautiful birds. I do not have much diversity at my feeders any more ('icky'- English) Sparrows and Goldfinches are the daily reliables. Trees in the area would help, but it is the nature of where we live. Enjoy!

    Have a Blessed Christmas and make Memories! They last much longer than most gifts.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I no longer feed the birds at the porch railing. The seed shells and bird droppings were more than I could handle.

    ReplyDelete