Cold morning quail

[Hummer]

With the temperature at 12 below yesterday, the birds flocked to feed around the brush pile outside. We put out bird seed and cracked corn daily so that every morning and evening about 35-50 Gambel's Quail put on a show for us.


http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Birds/GAQU-12-7-13a_zpsa181ce47.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Birds/GAQU-12-7-13a_zpsa181ce47.jpg.html)


The scene is the same this morning but with 2" more fresh snow and the temp is higher at 22F.


http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Birds/GAQU-12-7-13b_zps48569828.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Birds/GAQU-12-7-13b_zps48569828.jpg.html)


Gambel's Quail are active and talkative. Also in the pic is a Spotted Towhee, and adult and immature White-crowned Sparrows. We've been getting Western Scrub Jays, lots of Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared Doves.


http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Birds/GAQU-12-7-13c_zps0e6efe9f.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Birds/GAQU-12-7-13c_zps0e6efe9f.jpg.html)


I heard scratching in the laundry room and discovered a bird inside the dryer vent hose. Was expecting a Starling or House Sparrow but when I opened the hose out flew a little Bewick's Wren. It had gotten into the dryer vent and probably spent the night inside. The bird flew through the house to the upstairs office and hit a big 6'x6' window, apparently causing it to crack, (temperature probably had a lot to do with the break). The bird which weighs 1/3 ounce, was OK so I let him go right away. He blinked as I snapped the photo....

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Birds/Bewicks-Wren-12-7-13_zpsf0f3a2cf.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Birds/Bewicks-Wren-12-7-13_zpsf0f3a2cf.jpg.html)


Anyone else have interesting birds to watch from home?

[ray1970]

Cool pictures. I know nothing about birds. I do know I can't stand woodpeckers. They tend to be a bit rough on my house.

[sniper7]

Those are awesome! I love quail!

[Hummer]

We like it here in the Grand Valley. Here's the view looking north a few minutes ago from my computer desk. The Colorado River is a mile north, Mt. Garfield in the center is 7 miles away, Mt. Lincoln is on the right, and The Bookcliffs to the left of Garfield run 34 miles west to the Utah border and beyond.


http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Home-view-The-Grand-Valley_zps2622080d.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Home-view-The-Grand-Valley_zps2622080d.jpg.html)

[vossman]

Amazing that an animal that size weighs a third of an ounce. I have never seen anything other than a sparrow or swallow around here.

[Wulf202]

When I was young we had a big problem with the quail suiciding into the picture window when we pulled the curtains back. Installed an inner lace curtain so they saw something instead of an opening

[10mm-man]

Very cool pictures! Looks like what's for breakfast..... lol j/k

Thanks for sharing, and keeping the birdies alive, fat, and happy!

[Hummer]

Amazing that an animal that size weighs a third of an ounce. I have never seen anything other than a sparrow or swallow around here.

Yea, wrens are tiny birds (1/3 oz. or 10 grams). Compare that to a hummingbird at 1/8 oz. or 4 grams, a White-crowned Sparrow at 0.9 oz. or 26 grams, and to a Gambel's Quail that weighs 6 oz. or 180 grams. A Dusky (Blue) Grouse weighs 2.3 lbs. or 1050 grams.

[SamuraiCO]

Nice bunch of quail. Thanks for giving them the right type of habitat for survival. They are fun to just watch and fun to hunt. In the burbs of Parker I have had flickers, downy woodpeckers, magpie, tohee, juncos, ginches, chickadees, bushtits, scrub jays, doves, flying rats (pigeons), just today. The occasional cooper's hawk will swoop in for a meal with they would take a few more pigeons.

Thanks for sharing.

[Hummer]

Very cool pictures! Looks like what's for breakfast..... lol j/k

Thanks for sharing, and keeping the birdies alive, fat, and happy!

We have breakfast with the birds every morning but I don't hunt the home covey. Actually had elk loin steak and eggs for breakfast this morning. [Coffee]




When I was young we had a big problem with the quail suiciding into the picture window when we pulled the curtains back. Installed an inner lace curtain so they saw something instead of an opening


We don't have many trees by the windows which would cause window strikes (although doves hit them anyway, dumbass food birds that they are), but last summer a quail did slam into the window and died when a Cooper's Hawk came through. The hawk didn't get the quail so I cooked it up. Not much meat on it, maybe 2 oz. at the most but it was delicious.

[ray1970]

While I think birds are pretty cool, I'd rather not feed them at my place. (Of course, I don't have quail here in town). I am, however, thinking of building a squirrel feeder or two soon as I do enjoy watching them frolic around my back yard.

[spleify]

Very cool pics and a beautiful area you live in.

Thanks for sharing

[Hummer]

Nice bunch of quail. Thanks for giving them the right type of habitat for survival. They are fun to just watch and fun to hunt. In the burbs of Parker I have had flickers, downy woodpeckers, magpie, tohee, juncos, ginches, chickadees, bushtits, scrub jays, doves, flying rats (pigeons), just today. The occasional cooper's hawk will swoop in for a meal with they would take a few more pigeons.

Thanks for sharing.

Cooper's Hawks take some of our Eurasian Collared Doves--wish they'd take them all.

A lot of the fun of having farm acreage is creating habitat for wildlife. Besides fruit tree orchards we have a pasture, and desert grassland above the irrigation canal. We've built a 1000 ft. wildlife shelterbelt that runs from the dryland by the house to the orchard and pasture. All around the property we've built piles of apple tree branches for wildlife cover. It helps protect birds and small mammals from predators and maintains a good balance. I don't begrudge the native predators their take. We get to see a lot of wildlife because of it.

A few minutes ago a Sharp-shinned Hawk raided the brush pile above. It trapped some of the juncos but was unable to work it's way down into the branches to catch them. They're still successful enough to keep coming back.

Here's a view from my computer desk looking east to the Grand Mesa. Just have to share the views, it's such a pretty day.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Home/Grand-Mesa-View-12-8-13_zps0e0b4778.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Home/Grand-Mesa-View-12-8-13_zps0e0b4778.jpg.html)

[wctriumph]

Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas.

[Aloha_Shooter]

For the past 2+ years (could be longer, I just noticed it two summers ago), I've had a mourning dove nesting in one of my hanging planters every summer. She raises 3 or 4 pairs of young then disappears for the winter. I hope she's back next year -- I saw a lot of feathers in the backyard in September and am afraid a fox or cat got to her or one of her youngsters.

[hunterhawk]

Awesome area! And awesome birds! I would love to get one mounted! Would go great with my Hungarian partridge :-) from North Dakota thanks for sharing

[brutal]

Nice bunch of quail. Thanks for giving them the right type of habitat for survival. They are fun to just watch and fun to hunt. In the burbs of Parker I have had flickers, downy woodpeckers, magpie, tohee, juncos, ginches, chickadees, bushtits, scrub jays, doves, flying rats (pigeons), just today. The occasional cooper's hawk will swoop in for a meal with they would take a few more pigeons.

Thanks for sharing.

That reminds me, I haven't seen (or heard) our Owl around for a while. We've had a fox patrolling for rabbits lately. Wife saw him last week, I saw him Tuesday when the Dish guy and I went out back. I have some brush from a recent tree pruning piled on the side of the house near the fence and the rabbits must be hanging around in there. I had chased most of them off with many backyard sacrifices, but I've apparently built a new habitat for them now. I hope he decimates the little bastards so they stop digging under may patio slab.

[OtterbatHellcat]

Nice pics, Hummer. It's cool you know the species of all the different birds around you too.

[Gman]

Thanks for sharing!

[palepainter]

I love the Magpies that hang out and eat the chicken feed. They are magnificent birds.

[DavieD55]

That is pretty awesome!

[rpm]

Gambel's Quail are active and talkative. Also in the pic is a Spotted Towhee, and adult and immature White-crowned Sparrows. We've been getting Western Scrub Jays, lots of Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared Doves.


Huh... I wasn't aware there were anything but bobwhites out east and scaled quail further south. That is very cool there are Gambel's in Colorado, I had no idea - not that the DOW would know either for that matter. We have a large variety of birds where I live, I don't know them all but they're fun to watch at the feeder until target practice - I mean squirrels - arrive at the feeder.

[Hummer]

Huh... I wasn't aware there were anything but bobwhites out east and scaled quail further south. That is very cool there are Gambel's in Colorado, I had no idea - not that the DOW would know either for that matter. We have a large variety of birds where I live, I don't know them all but they're fun to watch at the feeder until target practice - I mean squirrels - arrive at the feeder.


Well, Gambel's Quail aren't on the eastern slope but in the west they live in the lower valleys of SW Garfield, Mesa, Delta, Ouray, LaPlata and Montezuma Counties. There's also a small population in San Miguel County along the Dolores River. The hunting season runs from Nov. 9-Jan. 5th.