I love Bobwhite Quail. They are neat little birds that run along the ground which makes them difficult to photograph. These images were taken in or near the alley that borders my front yard. I am glad to see the numbers of these birds increasing in the area. And I may have more of these encounters if the stray cat numbers continue to stay low.
This bird is a male and is running from me because I tried to follow him and his friend to take their picture. I was careful to approach slowly and not to make any sudden moves. Somewhere in the process, I got too close and they began to move away from me.
Most of my pictures of Bobwhite are like these, quick snaps of a bird on the run. Makes them a challenge, and difficult to photograph without a blind and baiting them to a photogenic distance.
This image shows the male in front and the female following as they scooted out of camera range. She came with him into the yard but she was always far enough away that getting them both in the frame was not possible. Despite the technical frustrations, they are fun to watch and photograph when I can. These live in my neighborhood and it is always exciting to see them doing their thing.
For more information on these birds, you can pop over to the All About Birds website at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It’s where you can learn useful things like the family name for these birds has changed from Phasianidae to Odontophoridae sometime in the last 40 years. This site helps me make sure I keep up with the refinements in taxonomy. It is worth a look.
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