Ground Birds: Quail

We are working our way through the Ground Birds and coming to the Quail.

Gambel's Quail Male

Gambel's Quail: Female

Montezuma's Quail: Female

Montezuma's Quail: Male

Scaled Quail: Female

A Few Wildlife Photos from The Azure Gate

Occasionally, I have a few minutes to work around our property and stretch my legs. Sometimes I'll take my camera with me just in case.

I did so yesterday and came back with a few photos:

Cardinal

Male Gambel's Quail with chicks

Roadrunner

Rufous Crowned Sparrow

Birds of Sweetwater Wetlands - Part I

I've had a chance to get over to Sweetwater Wetlands a couple of times in the past week. While I didn't see anything rare I thought I'd at least share what can be typically found there (in alphabetical order):

American Coot

Anna's Hummingbird

Common Yellowthroat

Cooper's Hawk

Gambel's Quail

House Finch

The Azure Gate Birds:

I sat outside my office for about 15 minutes with camera in hand just to see what would pass by. The results:

Male Gambel's Quail

Male Pyrrhuloxia

Female Pyrrhuloxia

Gambel's Quail

Sometimes a photo is just outside the door -- no need to drive and search for hours. Here a male Gambel's Quail sits atop a dead cholla cactus just asking to have his photo taken. I was willing and here was the result:

Gambels Quail

Saguaro National Park

I awoke this morning as I usually do around 4:45. Realizing that I didn't have to make breakfast for anyone I thought I would go to Saguaro National Park just at sunrise. SNP is about five minutes from us. I expected to see some Black Tailed Jackrabbits, and they didn't disappoint. Got some other nice photos as well:

Black Tail Jackrabbits facing off

Black Tail Jackrabbit reaching for Mesquite flowers

Black Tail Jackrabbit staring me down

Black Tail Jackrabbit hiding -- well he thinks he is

Raven eating the flowers of a Saguaro

Swainson's Hawk chicks in nest of Saguaro

Brown Crested Flycatcher

Gambels Quail eating Saguaro Flowers

Curved Bill Thrasher standing on a Saguaro Flower yet to Bloom

Teddy Bear Cholla in the Morning Sun

Ground Birds - VI

On to Quails. First up, the Gambel's Quail. We have 50 to 100 around The Azure Gate all the time. Like the Roadrunner, you seldom see them fly. It is only if they can't run fast enough to get out of the way of a car or if they want to be on a tree branch of piece of cactus that they leave the ground. Gambel's Quail typically lay 10 - 15 eggs (on the ground) usually in the April, May, June timeframe. We often see the little ones starting in early May. I realized that in preparing for this blog I don't have any good "chick" photos, so I'll have to make it a point to get some this year. It is not easy to get photos of the chicks. Looking through a window you see them in a line with one parent in the front and one in the back, which is a photographic nightmare to capture. As soon as you open the door or approach they scatter and run away. The parents are very protective of their young. Parents will chase other adult quail away from their chicks if the adults get too close. Yet, adult quail we "team up" to chase Roadrunners or snakes away from their chicks. The first two photos today are the male, the last photo a female (all three taken here at The Azure Gate).