Backyard Visitors

The past couple of days we have had some unexpected, but very welcome visitors to our backyard.  Yesterday I was walking past the window that looks out into our backyard and saw movement.  This is what I saw.


Quail!  I love quail.  And I have often wished they would visit our yard.  It has been rare and fleeting when they have.  So we watched quietly and as unobtrusively as possible.  These birds are very wary and will take flight at the least noise or movement.  Almost always there is one adult bird that perches up high and acts as the sentinel.  Here is this groups appointed"watcher".
 

It appeared to be a group of 4 adults and a passel of babies.  I tried counting but it was difficult because there are constantly running to and fro.  As near as I could tell it was approximately 14 babies.


I've looked in my birdbook and I believe these are California Quail.  It was a little hard to tell because the picture in my book showed them looking a bit more brown.  The quail in my yard seemed more gray in color.  See what you think if you have a bird book handy.  This guy was very suspicious.  He knew something was amiss and kept looking my direction as I stealthily poked my cameras lens out the window. He never saw me though or he would have sounded the alarm.


Here you can see some of the babies hunting for insects (ants I think) under these rocks.  More power to them!!  I did go online to see what they normally eat and it seems that they like seeds and insects.


They wandered around our yard for about three hours.  I could see them relax a bit and enjoy their little oasis in the desert.   Then at some unknown signal, they all flew to the top of the fence and then back out into the sage.  They must have enjoyed their stay because they were back again today and stayed another couple hours.  They even took a dust bath in my herb garden!  I'll cross my fingers that they decide to come often.