I first saw these California Valley Quail as they crossed the road in the foothills of Claremont CA. Mom and dad were easy to see but the little fuzzballs looked like Morse Code dots, scrawling across the pavement like on a ticker tape.

"Wow, they're just lil guys" I thought to myself. Maybe a late 2nd hatch.

The covey was too fast for me to catch in the road with my Canon GL-2 camcorder so I parked and waited to see if they would come back out of the Catclaw bushes where they had disappeared.

Since it was feeding and scratchin time it wasn't long before they popped back out for some tasty seeds and bugs.

Man are them lil goobers fast with such short legs. I tried to count the chicks and got maybe 12 to 14. See how many feathered pinballs you get. I figure Mr. Hawk and Mr. Bobcat have already glommed a quail cheeseburger or two so this hatch was close to 16 maybe? Not much to chew on though, more like popcorn shrimp for a large predator or raptor.

Quail video

I've been scouting quite a bit over the last few weeks and it's been a very good hatch for both valley quail and mountain quail.

Lot's of little fuzzballs

It should be a very good season.