Day 161: In the thirty-plus years I have lived at this location, I have never seen a California Quail in my yard or, for that matter, even in this general area. Quail were a common sight when I was growing up, at least in rural areas. My dad would frequently have to slow down or stop the car to allow a mother to lead her chicks across the road when we were out for a drive. In later years, their numbers dwindled, but I didn't notice their absence until one day when I saw one sitting on a fence beside a bike trail. "Quail!" I said, stopping to grab a quick snapshot if I could. "Funny, I haven't seen quail in years." I was reminded of a Joni Mitchell song and the line, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."
Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the bird feeders were nearly empty. As I put my hand on the door handle to draw it back, I saw a speckled oddity among the Mourning Doves feeding on the ground. The bird had its back to me, pecking head-down at the scattered sunflower seeds. When it raised its head, the cute little topkknot told me all I needed to know. There, in my own yard, was a California Quail. It startled at some sound, raced for cover beneath the contorted filbert, and then a few minutes later, emerged to scratch a depression at the end of one of the timbers surrounding the tree. It hunkered down into the hollow, sat there for a few minutes, and then decided to explore for more food. I watched it for some time as it alternated between feeding and hiding, and once saw it fly up to perch on one of the tree's lower branches. With a ready food supply and good cover for safety from predators, perhaps my Quail will stick around and, if I'm lucky, maybe we'll even have some Quail chicks in the future.
