First Time Quail Visitors

Callipepla gambelii

For the first time that I'm aware of, a small group of Gambel's Quail ventured into my garden. I've hoped to see quail here for the past four years, but none came around until today. At my previous residence, they were regular visitors, and I enjoyed watching them walk in a line the length of the garden walls around my home before moving on to the view fence railing. Sometimes they would keep going down the railing from house to house for about a quarter mile. They never seemed to leave the walls to walk on the ground! Even when trying to avoid predators, they run to hide in vegetation rather than fly.


I think this small band of female visitors (no male and no babies that I saw) is too small to be called a covey, but then, I don't know the count necessary to qualify as a covey! There were a total of five quail in this group. Gambel's Quail is also known as Arizona Quail, Top-Knot Quail or Desert Quail.

I get thousands of these Mourning Doves year-round, but in the fall, they seem to become more plentiful, and come to rest in my desert garden in late afternoon. They are as still as statues when resting. At times I've counted close to 50 of them sitting motionless in the elevated portions of the yard.






Different subject: This orange pot planted with Purple Heart is such a great color combo that I bought paint in these colors to paint a small tile-topped tool cabinet and a wooden planter stand, and anything else sitting around in my garden that I think needs painting. When the weather cools, I get ambitious about garden projects, but don't always follow through. If I do manage to complete a project, I'll post a photo in the future!