The State Bird!
This morning when I came downstairs at The Aerie to start coffee and mentally prepare for another difficult day of NFL Playoff watching, I noticed the usual assortment of little sparrows and mourning doves at the hanging feeder. Except, one of those doves wasn’t a dove at all…
Happily, I observed, one, two – no a whole covey of Callipepla californica, the California Quail, rooting around in the our new gravel scouting out a little breakfast as well.
We’ve occasionally glimpses these birds in the chaparral near our house, but never in our backyard. I have to say I always smile when I see them trucking along (they prefer to walk/run than fly) with their plumes (we call them “doobers”) bouncing along on their heads.
We were just speaking with friends the other day that we thought the re-do of our backyard would allow more access to snakes from the canyon, but I hadn’t thought that we also might get much more welcome visitors.
Nice way to start the day.
Stevil 
lovely – we don't have many birds here (in our yard that is) but we do have a pair of doves that seem to like it here even if it means they have to put up with the dog chasing them every now and then, and I love watching them potter about
I think this is a good sign of a healthy new landscaping – kudos!
they are gorgeous! it's a great feeling to see a species that you don't see often. :)
Very cool. For all my years in the state I'm not sure I've ever seen one up close. I've seen plenty of roadrunners in my day, but never the quail.
We used to see a lot of Quail when we lived in Kelowna. They do look pretty running around.
That is pretty freakin' cool.
We have abundant Quail in our neighborhood; they feed in our backyard and all over the area. It's a welcome greeting to see them scurry across the street as we leave to run errands. I missed this so much when I was in L.A.
Awww! I love their little hats! Lovely quail photos. Is that a….pinyon jay? Scrub jay? He's pretty whatever he is.
Quail are so much more welcome than the Christmas Eve & New Years' Eve Canyon Rat visitation……
So pretty! It's funny what is "normal" in one state looks so exotic to those in another. I would be so excited to see those walking around my backyard.
Canyon rat? No, that doesn't sound like something I would want around!
Mrs S — I like to think so too. We really do get a kick out of the critters that live in the canyon nearby. Well, except for the rats.
Janette — we'd seen one on the fence that divides our house from our neighbors', but seeing that many was really a treat. I saw a road-runner once on our street last year, but they seem pretty rare in our neighborhood. They're very cool.
Ellie — the best I can tell, it's a scrub jay. We have a couple of them that completely dominate the feeder when they're around — its funny to see all the other "little" birds waiting in the branches for their chance.
janie — we really like watching the birds too. The table in our kitchen has a nice view of the yard, so we can watch the hummingbirds and feeder birds. In a month or two, we'll put out the oriole feeder (western, not baltimore around here though… ;) ).
I can't see quail without smiling. They're just so darned cute.