200906 - Quail Addendum

You remember earlier this week I said that the baby quail could not get into our backyard. Well, I was wrong. Apparently they learn to fly much earlier than I thought. This morning when I went to feed the birds, I interrupted 2 families of quail: 1 large (8-10 babies) family of very young birds (3-4 inches tall) and a smaller (3-4 babies) family of larger babies (6 inches or so). As I opened the slider the birds just scattered. All I saw was babies heading for bushes. I immediately closed the door and left the area. In a few moments the adults from the larger family were collecting the babies on the patio. It was very cool to watch. Unfortunately by the time I found my glasses (I lose them at least 20 times a day) and got the camera the family was scurrying across the gravel to the bushes and the fence. The other family stayed around for a little bit longer but it is very hard to get a good picture of them while they are on the gravel. They blend in so well. Also unfortunately (for the quail) in the desert it seems like almost everything except bunnies and lizards eat baby quail; snakes, coyotes, road runners, other birds, etc..