California Quail male on a rock – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I haven’t had any California Quail in my viewfinder since last December so a when I had the chance to photograph a male at Farmington Bay WMA nine days ago I was happy. I love the wobbly topknots on these upland game birds and the striking patterns of the lower parts of their breasts.
In past years I have seen California Quail where I live in the Salt Lake Valley with their young during the breeding season but for some reason I saw far fewer of them this year. That concerns me.
The lighting wasn’t the best on this quail but as a bird photographer sometimes I have to make do with the lighting I have and that is what I did.
There were a few older chicks that had dashed into the tall grasses near the rock this male was perched on and he was keeping an eye on them. I hope that I see more of these quail in the coming weeks.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my California Quail photos plus facts and information about this species.
Seeing tons more crows n’ ravens, less of most everything else, gee what a coincidence.
I hope you see more too.
A handsome gentleman!
They are fun to watch, we have them on the West side of the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. Did not know they had a short life. I like to see the little round bodies moving around so fast.
If it makes you feel any better, we had a bumper crop this year in Northern California with California quail in every bush.
Lovely. I like your “wobbly top knot!” Thanks for sharing your work/passion. It’s pretty quiet around here as much of the migration has come and gone, so seeing wobbly top knots is pretty cool.
Spectacular shot Mia. They are plentiful in the Texas panhandle where I grew up.
I agree with Liz, beautiful bird. It is interesting that the breast feathers are partially outlined in black, that would be fun to paint !
What a beautiful bird! Too bad they seem to have such short lives.