{"id":49709,"date":"2017-12-06T05:29:25","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T12:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=49709"},"modified":"2025-09-05T06:08:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T11:08:00","slug":"winter-views-of-california-quail-in-northern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/06\/winter-views-of-california-quail-in-northern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Views of California Quail in Northern Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale California Quail running in snow – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was able to photograph several California Quail in snow yesterday in Davis County, Utah and I was also able to listen to at least one male calling.<\/p>\n

I wanted to share this recording<\/span><\/a> for your listening pleasure while reading this post, other birds that can be heard in the background are Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, California Scrub-Jay, and Wrentit.<\/p>\n

There was more snow on the ground in Davis County than here at home in Salt Lake County and I was happy to see it. The birds sure stood out well from the white of the snow plus I also liked the autumn colors of the shrubbery in the background.<\/p>\n

This male scooted by pretty fast and I was only able to get a couple dozen images of him. I love the feathered top knots these birds have.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of California Quail females – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The feathered top knots of the females are a bit smaller than those of the males and the females don’t have the striking bold white stripes on their faces but I appreciate the scaled feathers on their breasts, their more subdued coloration and the tiny polka dot patterns on their necks.<\/p>\n

I wish I could have gotten both the birds in this frame as sharply in focus as the bird in the foreground but they were fairly close to me and I needed more depth of field than I had with the settings I was using.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale California Quail standing in snow – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This female was very cooperative and stood out in the open on the snow for a bit as the other quail moved out of my view.<\/p>\n

In the summer when I have my windows at home open for fresh air I can hear the calls and songs of the California Quail as they court and raise their young. I love hearing them even in the city. I should photograph them at home more often than I do.<\/p>\n

\"WinterWinter California Quail female – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It was very nice to spend just a small amount of time with these California Quail yesterday listening to them, observing and photographing them as they went about the business of being birds.<\/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":"

I was able to photograph several California Quail in snow yesterday in Davis County, Utah and I was also able to listen to at least one male calling. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":154355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,1203,1022,26],"tags":[4004,6264,6263,4070,4062,6265,4050,401,373],"class_list":["post-49709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-quails","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-california-quail","tag-callipepla-californica","tag-female","tag-male","tag-quail","tag-snow","tag-upland-game-birds","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t