Cold morning quail

[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.

[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.