nature, Photography

The Okanagan’s Smallest

34 Comments

The Okanagan Valley is home to the cutest little quail that run – they do fly if they have to but mostly they run – very quickly through parking lots, across roads and under low-lying bushes.

More than once I have been completely startled by 20 or more quail bursting from under some bushes because they have been frightened by either me or something else that I didn’t see.

They will also burst out of hiding to distract predators from their chicks. These little birds are very small. They’re about 17cm (6.5 inches) long and weigh about 75g (3 ounces), so you can imagine how tiny their chicks are!

These birds are not native to British Columbia; they are in fact an invasive species brought here about 100 years ago. However, since they have not posed any kind of threat to any other species, they have found their niche and BC is now home.

Except for this species, that is. Every time they surprise me by bursting out of the underbrush, I have to find my heart and put it back!

Happy Wednesday.

34 thoughts on “The Okanagan’s Smallest”

  2. They look so pretentious with their prominent head adornment. Quail, grouse and pheasants all have a similar style of preferring to run, rather than fly, it seems. Happy Wednesday Lynette. Allan

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    1. Thanks, Allan.
      They sure do! That head feather is such a silly addition but I also love it. Yes, they have the running in common with their relatives and they are amazingly quick with that feather bobbing ahead of them! Cheers.

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    1. I’ll be walking through a parking lot completely absorbed with something else and 20 of them will burst from under the bushes at the edges while making their distinctive alarm call and it’s just so momentarily surprising. Gets my heart going every time!

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    1. Normally the winters here are very temperate – last winter was an anomaly – so they usually do well in winter (these birds are native to California).

      I’m not sure how they made it through the cold snap we had in January as the temperature went down to -20 (-4F). I was thinking about them at that time but they seem to have come through it okay. There are many of them around.

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  5. Terrific photos Lynette! There was a covey of quail near where I lived in Ellensburg, WA years ago while attending university. I was also caught off guard when they came rushing out of their hiding places. I was startled, but it always made me chuckle too.

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    1. I agree, Tricia. Makes me chuckle too, especially after my momentary surprise. There’s usually quite a large number of them when they do this, and of course there’s all the flapping, emergency squawking, and flying. Their approach to dealing with predators is pretty effective, I think.

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  8. I miss seeing our local quail. Too many dogs on the loose, stray cats, and loud people. One neighbour guy poisoning his lawn one year wiped out all but one of nine baby quails in one brood one year because they happened to walk across his grass. I saw it unfold as I was there picking up my mail from the group box.

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    1. I’m so sorry to hear that, Anneli. I really don’t understand why someone would do that. Humans can be truly awful at times. I remember that I used to enjoy your posts about Quentin Quail. I hope your woodshed squirrel friends are still doing well though.

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  9. They are so cute, but so small? I think I’ve seen some quails in the past, but not so tiny!

    It’s amazing to see the birds out in the bush, not so pleasant when they startle us!

    Please check your email🙂

    Happy Wednesday!

    Christie

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    1. There are other species of quail that are larger – these are California quail. Yes, they are very small and their chicks are tiny fluff balls!

      After my momentary startle reflex has passed, I do chuckle about them. I have seen them scare dogs as well and no doubt they’re very off- putting to the much more dangerous predators too. 😊

      I’ve responded to your mail. Cheers.

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    1. Agreed, Penny. Definitely extremely cute with that silly head feather but also odd looking, too. Those little round bodies running pell mell with the head feathers bobbing remind me of a banker friend of my parents I used to know when I was a child. He didn’t have a head feather but he was short, round and always in a hurry! 😉

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    1. They are very cute. I’ve tried to get pictures of the chicks before but they’re so tiny and well camouflaged and the parents hide them in the underbrush or leaf litter. They could literally hide under a single leaf. They’re very difficult to spot, but then again that’s the whole idea!

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