{"id":112677,"date":"2023-04-17T03:42:01","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T09:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=112677"},"modified":"2023-04-17T05:36:34","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T11:36:34","slug":"california-quail-male-on-the-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/17\/california-quail-male-on-the-run\/","title":{"rendered":"California Quail Male On The Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was windy yesterday morning so I went for a walk at a local park. Before I even turned off my Jeep I could hear several California Quail calling<\/span><\/a>. I grabbed my camera and tripod and went to look for the quail.<\/p>\n

\"SpringSpring California Quail male on the run \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There were both female and male quail in an open area of the park. After I was able to get my tripod set up I took a few photos of this California Quail male as he ran in front of me.\u00a0 I had hoped to get more photos of the quail than I did but they were a little skittish. The wind might have had something to do with that.<\/p>\n

California Quail are <\/strong>not native to Utah<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

However, this quail species has adapted quite well to living here. Since the warmer days of spring have arrived, I have been seeing and hearing more quail in my neighborhood. Soon there will be baby quail running around with the adults. I love seeing the tiny chicks of this species following the adults as they forage for food.<\/p>\n

This time of the year I do have concerns about nesting quail and their chicks. They are at risk of being killed and eaten by outdoor cats and being hit by cars. When I see or hear quail I tend to drive a bit slower to reduce the chances of me hitting any of them.<\/p>\n

I know that I will be hearing these quail more often now because it has finally gotten warm enough that I can open my windows during the day.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my California Quail photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was windy yesterday morning so I went for a walk at a local park. Before I even turned off my Jeep I could hear several California Quail calling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1203,709,26],"tags":[4004,6264,6263,4109,686,4062,6265,7545,4148,165,8018],"class_list":["post-112677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-quails","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-california-quail","tag-callipepla-californica","tag-grasses","tag-introduced","tag-male","tag-quail","tag-run","tag-running","tag-spring","tag-urban"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/california-quail-male-spring-grasses-mia-mcpherson-8765.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tjn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49979,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/19\/urban-birds-california-quail-at-a-local-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":112677,"position":0},"title":"Urban Birds – California Quail at a Local Park","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It isn't uncommon to see California Quail crossing sidewalks, roads and trails in the city and this photo reminded me of how well this species has adapted to living in urban areas.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male California Quail crossing a sidewalk, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/california-quail-male-sidewalk-mia-mcpherson-7685.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/california-quail-male-sidewalk-mia-mcpherson-7685.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/california-quail-male-sidewalk-mia-mcpherson-7685.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/california-quail-male-sidewalk-mia-mcpherson-7685.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107621,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/31\/autumn-california-quail-covey\/","url_meta":{"origin":112677,"position":1},"title":"Autumn California Quail Covey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While walking along the Jordan River yesterday, I came upon a covey of about 25 California Quail. I was able to get close enough to photograph a few of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Quail male and fall leaves, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/california-quail-autumn-mia-mcpherson-3056.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/california-quail-autumn-mia-mcpherson-3056.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/california-quail-autumn-mia-mcpherson-3056.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/california-quail-autumn-mia-mcpherson-3056.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One male California Quail turned his head and through my viewfinder I could see him yawning and this was the only photo I got of him where I could see his entire face and eyes at a good angle.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male California Quail yawning, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-quail-male-yawning-mia-mcpherson-3168.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-quail-male-yawning-mia-mcpherson-3168.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-quail-male-yawning-mia-mcpherson-3168.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I photographed a small covey of California Quail, this the second time this month that I have seen and photographed these small upland game birds that have wiggly, little head plumes.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male California Quail running in morning light, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-male-running-mia-mcpherson-4146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-male-running-mia-mcpherson-4146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-male-running-mia-mcpherson-4146.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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