WINGSCAPES

Gambel's Quail Shows Its Southwestern Colors

Of all the birds common to North America, few are more recognizable or charismatic than those of the quail family, particularly those of the California and Gambel's Quail species. While both appear quite similar, the males each having the classic forward-curving head-plume that bobs as they scurry along the ground, the Gambel’s Quail prefers the desert southwest to the Pacific Coast Range inhabited by its California cousin.

This superb Wingscapes BirdCam image of a male Gambel’s Quail submitted to the BirdCam Photo Gallery by Milton from Surprise, Arizona shows the "warmer" desert color tones that help birders to identify the species.

California Quail Past and Present

Back in August, the Wingscapes BirdCam behind our home in the hills above Scappoose recorded a family of California Quail. It came as quite a surprise to us all as quail had not been previously seen on our property. The covey remained in the area for about a week then was not seen again for months.

Then at the end of October, the covey made a brief appearance in their adult plumage. Sadly, I had the BirdCams in other locations and had to grab a quick shot with a conventional camera.

Quite frankly, I like the BirdCam image better.

Surprise Discovery

One of the great joys of having a Wingscapes BirdCam monitoring your feeders is the remarkable discoveries you can make about the variety of bird species that visit while you’re not watching. Take, for example, this covey of California Quail that was recorded browsing the seeds on the ground beneath one of the main sunflower seed-dispensing feeders we keep stocked on our property in Scappoose, Oregon. In all the years we’ve owned the property, not a single quail has been seen anywhere near our home; however downloading the SD card from the BirdCam proved beyond a doubt that they’re here.

Northern Bobwhite added to the BirdCam Life List

Regular BirdCam photo contributor Pam from Malabar has such a variety of species in her yard. She recently sent us these great pictures of a pair of Northern Bobwhites. Since these are the first images of this particular species that we have received they have been added to our BirdCam Life List.

Thanks Pam!