One does not set out to see a quail around here — the likelihood of success is just too low.
The California Quail is not indigenous to the Province. There are some in southern Vancouver Island, where they were seeded in the 1860s, and southern Okanagan, where they probably snuck across the border from the US. An expedition to find quails might have the possibility of success at those places, but not here. The number of observations here are too few to justify the effort.
Yet, here were a half-dozen of them by the side of a secondary road. It is unclear why, but they were fun to see.
A male California Quail hopes that its inactivity makes it invisible.
Lovely! Have you seen the quail at the ‘holistic’ farm just upstream of the Taghum Bridge, on river right? I have wondered about them since I first saw them!
Margo, I have not. I will look for it.
Great photo, Alistair. Definitely unusual to see them in the Koots!