![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/california-quail-8354-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"california-quail-8354-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nThese two roam my neighborhood but they have a special affinity for my vegetable garden.<\/p>\n
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1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n In the early evening two days ago while I was beginning to prepare dinner I looked through my kitchen window and saw my resident pair of California Quail dust bathing in my garden. Of course I wanted photos but in that situation there’s always a problem. Since I want to avoid shooting through glass I have to open my French Doors to shoot from my kitchen and birds always seem to be spooked by the moving reflection in my door glass while I’m opening the door.<\/p>\n That’s exactly what happened with these quail. The instant my door began to move both quail left my garden and high-tailed it across my lawn to hide under my wooden deck. When I took these photos both of them were really scootin’ across the grass.<\/p>\n This is the handsome male of the pair. When I took this shot he had stopped running for just a second.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/5.6, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n And this is his more subtly colored but just as attractive mate. She was following him across the grass and within seconds after this shot was taken they both disappeared beneath my deck.<\/p>\n I have hopes of them raising their family in my back yard. In at least two previous years California Quail have nested beneath my storage shed and it was great fun to watch them for weeks with their many chicks through my kitchen windows. If you haven’t seen hordes of tiny quail chicks learning how to dust bathe you’re missing one of the joys of existence.<\/p>\n I realize that many of my followers visit Feathered Photography to see birds photographed in natural settings so apologies for the manicured grass. But in these difficult times when my excursions to more natural locations are limited I’m certainly not going to ignore quail in my back yard.<\/p>\n So until this virus threat is over or at least somewhat mitigated don’t be surprised if you see the occasional backyard bird posted to Feathered Photography.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These two roam my neighborhood but the have a special affinity for my vegetable garden.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/california-quail-8376-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"california-quail-8376-ron-dudley\\"")
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