July 19, 2003
This is now officially Quail City! There is yet another quail family in the back yard--this time with five babies, slightly larger than thimbles--maybe the size of demitasse cups. I saw them when I went out to change the hummer feeders this morning. I moved very gently and quickly so the mom wouldn’t abandon them, then watched them through the window while they fed under the suet feeder. Even as tiny as they are, they use their legs to kick away the top layer of whatever they are feeding on, to expose the bottom layer of yummy stuff.

I’ve kind of lost track of how many quail families I’ve seen this year--and this is the first year I have ever seen babies in the yard. The teenagers from the one- and three- chick families still feed here with their parents; they are about 2/3 adult size now.

Where do they all come from? How do they know to come to my yard? Have any of them had nests in my yard, say under the vines along the north side of the house? Mysteries