bobWHITE!

[smokeythecat]

New lawn ornaments. They need to get back into the woods.

 

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[Blak bart]

The Amish folks make pickled quail eggs...there not cheap for a jar full. The first time I tried them I realized that the first jar was gonna be done before I left the Amish market !! So I got another one so I didn't feel bad eating the whole entire first jar !!

 

[billb]

Very nice picture..I hope the fox and the cougar is not close by

 

[smokeythecat]

The fox had a feast last night. Probably 2 or 3. It set off the cameras outside. Today I heard a squawk and a barred tailed hawk got one that wandered out of the woods and thickets nearby. That's why they are called bird brains. Will probably get some more in a few weeks. It is nice seeing them but they like my cars and hang out near them. Idiots.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Poor quail. I can't think of a bird that is more persecuted than bobwhite quail. We had tons of them in the 60's then the coyotes came and their numbers dropped a lot. Bad winters in the late 70's about did them in. All we have now is leftover birds from those released to hunt. They are half tame and don't seem to do too well. I miss that "bob-white" whistle I used to hear often. Gary

 

[Megalodon]

I think hiding under a car is a good thing - protection from death from above (hawks, eagles, ospreys, owls) and keeping together is good too. Scattering may expose them more to the predators that can pick them off more easily one by one. Some predators are confused by prey in tight groups, like schools of fish, herds, flocks etc. A group of animals moving in synchrony like you see some fish schools, can fool some predators by appearing to be a large super-organism. At least that's one of many theories proposed to explain some the adaptive advantages of keeping in a tight group.

 

[Megalodon]

Endearing little birds. Its impossible to look at them and not smile.

 

[smokeythecat]

Last night was interesting. My security system saw a fox outside near the truck. All this is true - you can't make it up - I had hosed down the truck with the garden hose as some robins had desecrated it and that can take paint off a vehicle really fast. So, as i get done, the bird brains come out of the woods to see whazzup. idiot birds. I was done with the truck and water was dripping off the running boards. That was a great way to water quail. At sunset, I saw 24 stroll one after one in a straight line out of the woods and they spent the night under the truck. The fox came by three times, the first time it just walked by. Second time it was walking on the other side of the truck and I had a brilliant idea to scare it off. While watching the CCTV, I grabbed the remote to the truck and locked it! That made the headlights flash and the horn honked. The fox stopped running when it got to Minnesota. It came back again, but the truck got unlocked this time, same result. Truck only has 7" ground clearance. I hope the quail don't make it their forever home. Their poo really stinks. I am going to get some seed to put at the edge of the woods today. And a watering pan.

 

[Tony in SC]

Cool birds! Had'em all over the place when I was a kid. Now I haven't seen one in years!

 

[smokeythecat]

Tony in SC, that's why I got these. Tired of not seeing them and the habitat is good now. Don't expect most to survive, but quail in the wild only survive about a year anyway.

 

[Honest Samuel]

The Amish folks make pickled quail eggs...there not cheap for a jar full. The first time I tried them I realized that the first jar was gonna be done before I left the Amish market !! So I got another one so I didn't feel bad eating the whole entire first jar !!

I feel sorry for the birds.

 

[smokeythecat]

Honest_Samuel, I do too. Saw a stray one here last year, so there must be a few more around.

 

[Megalodon]

You're going to need another truck to provide sanctuary. How about getting a few with blown engines or trannies and scatter them around the place so the birds can hide under them? As a bonus, you'll have parts cars...

 

[smokeythecat]

Megs, as long as they are all on cinder blocks it will be fine.

 

[ToddsPoint]

I have a cracked corn feeder I put out in the winter. Had a few quail find it and they stuck around the rest of the winter enjoying the corn. Cracked corn is way cheaper than sunflower seeds. Gary

 

[smokeythecat]

ToddsPoint, next trip is to feed store in about 10 minutes.

 

[Megalodon]

Megs, as long as they are all on cinder blocks it will be fine.

Indeed. In my youth, I had Triumphs and Sunbeams on blocks but they never served a purpose as noble as quail habitat. I'm not suggesting that you actually buy more vehicles to put on blocks but imagine a t-net "go fund me" style donation of Chevy Equinoxes that would serve the dual purpose of parts cars and quail escape pods. Anyone have one to donate?

If I had a jon boat, I would have already delivered it and set it up (overturned) for their hiding place.

 

[Megalodon]

Megs, as long as they are all on cinder blocks it will be fine.

I'm a bit surprised that we have not received a fine or at least a warning for failure to have some minimum number of rustbuckets on blocks.

Some new neighbors stopped by to ask about the neighborhood and I told them that we could live anywhere, but it is nice to live in a place where an old man can stumble out of bed early in the morning half dressed at best and bum rush the front porch to curse out and swing wildly at the black vultures menacing my sweet outdoor cat Buddy while the air is filled with a kaleidoscope of black feathers and white vulture droppings raining down as they get away, and it is just another day in the neighborhood.

 

[Tahts-a-dats-ago]

There was a time when I hunted quite a lot. Pheasants, Dove, etc..

I did very well with pheasants and even doves (they can be very difficult to hit) but I seldom bagged a Quail (and back then there were a lot of them). The problem was that Quail tend to hold cover until the last second and they'd usually be grouped in a circle around you when they took flight. The sudden explosion of their wings hitting the tall dry grass sounded very much like a Rattlesnake - making me think (ever so briefly) that I had stepped into a den of Rattlesnakes that now surrounded me. That brief moment was usually enough to make it impossible for me to score a hit.

 

[smokeythecat]

Well, I have now one group that formed their own covey. We'll call it the Chevrolet Covey as they are hanging around both cars in the gravel driveway. I put out an unused plastic gold pan for a watering dish, the dummies PROBABLY can't drown in it. It apparently is the next best thing to bird seed. There were eight drinking after I got back from getting CHICKEN food. The feed I accidentally put out is right next to the watering gold pan. Dumb things. The other 75 or so made it really into the wilds. They may come back. I hear some calling from the edge of the woods. I'm having the lawn man deliberately not mow some of the lawn so they will have better cover. It has 2 weeks growth already.