California Quail Covey Eating Bird Seed

We've got a covey of California Quail that hangs out in our yard much of the day. We provide them with shrub cover, fresh water AND - their favorite - bird seed. They've come to expect it. This is how they greet us in the morning - waiting around for the seed. Once the hubby has thrown it out, they gobble it up quickly.

There are also mourning doves mixed within the flock.

Sorry for the bad video quality. We don't have a video camera. This is the movie setting on my point-and-shoot camera. There's also no sound, so don't try to "fix" your speakers. There's nothing wrong with them.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• wildlife
• California quail
• birds

[DesertRavenGrrrl]

@deborahhon Oh, and we live in a built-up rural-ish area, where the covey must, every day, deal with peoples' fences, crossing a road or two, and avoiding peoples' pets. Maybe this forces them to be less fearful? Oh, and, since these quail have always living among peoples' homes, they've also never known any hunting. (We learned that they're here in this neighborhood because someone from Quail Unlimited, who lives nearby, has bred them and released them.)

[DesertRavenGrrrl]

@deborahhon - Ooops, sorry to take so long!

We've been at this for over 7 yrs. Definitely each generation is becoming less and less fearful, but they are still rather panicky. One thing about this video - its shot through a window and it was a cold day when the quail were so hungry, they overcame their fear of us.

When we are outdoors, we have to move VERY slowly and talk in a quiet tone, but they're still fearful and likely to fly off. That's why we call them our little chickens!

[deborahhon]

How long did it take for those quail to trust being around you? I have a covey that visits my yard every day (also big fans of bird seed), but they're scared of me and take off as soon as they see me.