RHH's photos with the keyword: callipepla

Like all quail this species spends most of its time on the ground and seldom flies and then only for short distances. There are some of them nesting in a corner of our back yard and we see them every day picking up seed under the feeders. Occasionally, however, they come up on the back deck providing an even better opportunity for photos, as this male has.

These quail come looking for birdseed under the bird feeders we have up and occasionally come up on the porch looking for seed. This male was on the porch on a snowy day and seemed more interested in keeping warm than in feeding. It's obvious, too, from the photo that porch needs work and that is one of the projects for this summer.

Photographed in the area of Medical Lake, Washington, this bird is one I've tried many times to photograph and failed. The California Quail or Valley Quail, Callipepla californica, is very common in eastern Washington and is the state bird of California. They tend to run rather than fly and that makes them difficult to photograph.