{"id":60665,"date":"2019-10-04T04:56:59","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T10:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=60665"},"modified":"2025-02-06T06:29:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T12:29:21","slug":"male-california-quail-on-a-rock-at-farmington-bay-wma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/10\/04\/male-california-quail-on-a-rock-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","title":{"rendered":"Male California Quail On A Rock At Farmington Bay WMA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Quail male on a rock – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I haven’t had any California Quail in my viewfinder since last December so a when I had the chance to photograph a male at Farmington Bay WMA nine days ago I was happy. I love the wobbly topknots on these upland game birds and the striking patterns of the lower parts of their breasts.<\/p>\n

In past years I have seen California Quail<\/span><\/a> where I live in the Salt Lake Valley with their young during the breeding season but for some reason I saw far fewer of them this year. That concerns me.<\/p>\n

The lighting wasn’t the best on this quail but as a bird photographer sometimes I have to make do with the lighting I have and that is what I did.<\/p>\n

There were a few older chicks that had dashed into the tall grasses near the rock this male was perched on and he was keeping an eye on them. I hope that I see more of these quail in the coming weeks.<\/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 haven’t had any California Quail in my viewfinder since last December so a when I had the chance to photograph a male at Farmington Bay WMA nine days ago I was happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139366,"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":[27,1203,1022,697,26],"tags":[4004,970,6264,6263,4620,4109,4062,6265,7813,4921,401],"class_list":["post-60665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-quails","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-california-quail","tag-callipepla-californica","tag-fall","tag-grasses","tag-male","tag-quail","tag-raised-foot","tag-rock","tag-upland-game-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/california-quail-male-rock-mia-mcpherson-0714.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-fMt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/14\/roosting-male-california-quail-yawning\/","url_meta":{"origin":60665,"position":0},"title":"Roosting Male California Quail Yawning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 14, 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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-quail-male-yawning-mia-mcpherson-3168.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54792,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/10\/27\/more-california-quail-in-my-viewfinder\/","url_meta":{"origin":60665,"position":1},"title":"More California Quail In My Viewfinder","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 27, 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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-male-running-mia-mcpherson-4146.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":60665,"position":2},"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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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/california-quail-male-female-mia-mcpherson-1246.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/california-quail-male-female-mia-mcpherson-1246.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/california-quail-male-female-mia-mcpherson-1246.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/california-quail-male-female-mia-mcpherson-1246.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49979,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/19\/urban-birds-california-quail-at-a-local-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":60665,"position":4},"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, 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