Gambel's Quail

Gambel's Quail on rooftop   

Quail are one of my favorite birds. I love their personalities. They strut around with their plumes sticking out in front of them, always trying to keep up with the covey, calling to each other to keep tabs on where they are so they don't get left behind. You can always tell when quail are around because they never stop talking. There is nothing more entertaining than seeing a trail of little quail following the adults across a street with there little plumes bobbing up and down in front of them, all in a row like a mother duck and her ducklings. I have lived here for over 14 years and have only been seeing quail in this area for the last couple of years.  Last year they really seemed to move in and now we see them everywhere, usually near houses next to open desert, sometimes on our street in the Mesquite Trees when the seedpods start to fall, but there are a lot of cats that probably keep them away. Prior to last year I would see them in the desert near our house on really wet years, but mostly I just saw them at the bird preserve and other wetter areas.