Quail Nest Hatched

The little nest of quail eggs that we have been watching for the past few weeks has hatched. I unfortunately was not here to capture any photos and the little family of tiny quail babies have wandered away with mom and dad. I hope they will still visit our yard from time to time, but so far, I have not seen them. 

My family said they caught a glimpse of them among the front yard flowers, but then their parents quickly ushered them across the street into the neighbor's yard. I was amazed at how incredibly fragile their eggs are and how each chick pecked a near perfect circle around the end of his capsule to make an escape hatch. If they return, I'll try to get pictures.

Quail Mama

A couple of weeks ago we discovered a by-product of last fall's neglectful yard clean up.  Tucked it into a corner behind the empty propane tank I have been meaning to swap out since barbecue season ended, I left a half used bag of mulch. 

Well, a resourceful mother quail has taken up residence in the leaves piled behind the bag and laid a baker's dozen of speckled eggs. I had noticed some comings and goings the last couple of weeks, but thought nothing of it since we always have quail in the yard. On closer inspection, I realized she was nesting back there and her dutiful hubby chirps at me from the nearby pine trees if I get too close. I am not sure how much time is left in the incubation period, but I'll try to get pictures of the little fuzzy chicks when they make their way into the world.

Bird watching previously on Life Needs Art