Advertisement ยท 728 ร— 90
#
Hashtag
#TopKnotTuesday
Advertisement ยท 728 ร— 90
A striking male Gambel's Quail in profile fills half the frame while leaning over the edge of my fence.

A striking male Gambel's Quail in profile fills half the frame while leaning over the edge of my fence.

Yesterday I was clever,
so I wanted to change the world.

Today I am wise,
so I am changing myself.
~Rumi

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail ๐Ÿชถ

#TopKnotTuesday
#EastCoastKin
#Photography
#BirdLovers
#Quail

150 20 0 0
Gambel's Quail #191, a male in profile heading into the afternoon sun with some odd green stuff in the background...odd for the desert, I mean.

Gambel's Quail #191, a male in profile heading into the afternoon sun with some odd green stuff in the background...odd for the desert, I mean.

๐ŸชถGambelโ€™s Quail begin nesting early in the spring and need adequate late winter rains to green up the desert. The water helps produce cover and forage full of vitamin A to help with reproductive body condition.

๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸšฟNow you...and the neighbors know why I watered that empty lot. ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

#TopKnotTuesday

48 7 0 0
I mean...right?! A male Gambel's Quail in profile sticks his topknot plume right between two bokeh balls. On purpose.

I mean...right?! A male Gambel's Quail in profile sticks his topknot plume right between two bokeh balls. On purpose.

๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ Good morning peeps! Happy St. Patrick's Day! โ˜˜๏ธ

This morning I caught a quail with his topknot between two bokeh balls...๐Ÿซง๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿซง

...surely that means something. ๐Ÿค”

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail, today's #birding! ๐ŸŒฟ

#Quail
#BirdLovers
#Photography
#TopKnotTuesday

92 12 2 0
A young-ish male Gambel's Quail is facing into the sunlight but with his head turned to look back over his left shoulder against an oddly white background devoid of any detail created by my neighbors' white garage. Let's call it negative space. Now you know.

A young-ish male Gambel's Quail is facing into the sunlight but with his head turned to look back over his left shoulder against an oddly white background devoid of any detail created by my neighbors' white garage. Let's call it negative space. Now you know.

You have two lives.
The second begins
when you realize
you only have one.
~Confucius

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ

#TopKnotTuesday ๐Ÿชถ

82 12 2 0
The cholla patch sure seems less harsh and much more friendly in bokeh as a background for this male Gambel's Quail standing watch on a weathered fence post.

The cholla patch sure seems less harsh and much more friendly in bokeh as a background for this male Gambel's Quail standing watch on a weathered fence post.

๐ŸŒฟQuail post๐ŸŒฟ

๐Ÿชถ #TopknotTuesday

120 15 2 0
Two lovebirds...er, Gambel's Quail appear to cross topknots, canoodling. It's a word.

Two lovebirds...er, Gambel's Quail appear to cross topknots, canoodling. It's a word.

Love is the bridge
between you
and everything.
~Rumi

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ

#TwosDay
#TopKnotTuesday
#Photography
#BirdLovers
#Quail

71 8 1 0
The Gambel's Quail I showed you last week...looking at you. Look it up.

The Gambel's Quail I showed you last week...looking at you. Look it up.

When someone asks you
"what's wrong?"
but nothing's wrong,
that's just how your face looks

#TopKnotTuesday ๐Ÿชถ
#LookingAtYou
#Quail

61 8 2 1
You gotta try to make at least one look good...

You gotta try to make at least one look good...

...when you get the whole covey over for a visit. I count 23 quail in this frame, so there's a slight chance you'll believe me when I say there were more...

...when you get the whole covey over for a visit. I count 23 quail in this frame, so there's a slight chance you'll believe me when I say there were more...

๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿฆ๐ŸŒฟ Quail peeps! Ima show you two frames from today's #birding... ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

...since we had quite the covey this morning! ๐Ÿฅฐ

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail

#TopKnotTuesday
#Photography
#BirdLovers
#Quail

89 8 0 0
Peek-a-boo! A male Gambel's Quail hiding up in the tree peeks around the trunk to stare down at me...

Peek-a-boo! A male Gambel's Quail hiding up in the tree peeks around the trunk to stare down at me...

...which I did, but had to thread a tight window in the bare branches for some topknot in profile.

...which I did, but had to thread a tight window in the bare branches for some topknot in profile.

๐Ÿคซ Quail don't actually like to be photographed.

๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ So you get a couple thread-the-needle clicks for #TopKnotTuesday because today's birb made it to the neighbors' tree before I even got my lens cap off. ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

#Quail
#Birding
#BirdLovers
#StickHappens
#Photography
#BirdOfTheDay
#StareDown

39 5 0 0
Turns out the fence line is a super place to catch a full view of a beautiful male Gambel's Quail in sunny profile with nothing but distant mountains in bokeh for a background. Zen birding.

Turns out the fence line is a super place to catch a full view of a beautiful male Gambel's Quail in sunny profile with nothing but distant mountains in bokeh for a background. Zen birding.

๐Ÿชถ Quail peeps! Feels like a two quail #TopKnotTuesday...

...it's only fair, since I gave you two of Mr. Cooper last week, and I just met this fella yesterday. So we'll call this today's #birding!

Got that straight? ๐ŸŒฟ

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii, #184, riding the fence

#Quail
#BirdLovers
#Photography

134 16 1 0
A close up profile of a male Gambel's Quail with his beak open. Note the serrated, or "saw-toothed," edges are for efficiently gripping and breaking up seeds and vegetation, rather than for powerful cracking.

A close up profile of a male Gambel's Quail with his beak open. Note the serrated, or "saw-toothed," edges are for efficiently gripping and breaking up seeds and vegetation, rather than for powerful cracking.

Meh...

โฐ I'm late to the #openbeak party with the #BirdOfTheDay peeps...

...but early for #TopKnotTuesday! ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

Yours truly,
Even Steven

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ

#Quail
#BirdLovers
#Photography

129 12 4 1
A proud papa Gambel's Quail looks on from the wildflower patch as his borby chick glares back at its first human...probably. Look at that little ball of fluff!!

A proud papa Gambel's Quail looks on from the wildflower patch as his borby chick glares back at its first human...probably. Look at that little ball of fluff!!

Timeline cleanse...

๐Ÿฅ๐ŸŒผ๐ŸŒฟ Baby #borb... #LookingAtYou!

...and #TopKnotTuesday! ๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿชถ

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii, aka Gambel's Quail

#BorbAlert
#EastCoastKin
#BirdLovers
#Photography
#TinyTuesday

95 14 1 0
Male Gambel's Quail feature a distinctive black face and throat, a reddish-brown cap, white border lines, gray body, chestnut sides with white streaks, and a central black patch on a buff belly, topped with a prominent black topknot (plume). Like this one.

Male Gambel's Quail feature a distinctive black face and throat, a reddish-brown cap, white border lines, gray body, chestnut sides with white streaks, and a central black patch on a buff belly, topped with a prominent black topknot (plume). Like this one.

When I am silent,
I fall into the place
where everything is music.
~Rumi

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ ...do you hear it?

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ

#TopKnotTuesday
#BirdPhotography
#Photography
#EastCoastKin
#BirdLovers
#Quail

126 19 3 1
A relatively gregarious male Gambel's Quail is walking toward the camera but with his head turned to the side to keep a good eye on things...

A relatively gregarious male Gambel's Quail is walking toward the camera but with his head turned to the side to keep a good eye on things...

Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.
~Henry David Thoreau

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail... #lookingatyou ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ

#TopKnotTuesday
#Photography
#BirdLovers
#Birding

130 12 2 1
When a skittish male Gambel's Quail peeks at you through a 'window' in the bare branches with the Mojave Desert as a background you call it natural framing.

When a skittish male Gambel's Quail peeks at you through a 'window' in the bare branches with the Mojave Desert as a background you call it natural framing.

Natural framing... ๐Ÿซถ

...meets #TopKnotTuesday! ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜†

Have a sweet one quail-peeps!! ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿฆ๐ŸŒฟ

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii, aka Gambel's Quail ๐Ÿชถ

#Quail
#Birding
#BirdLovers
#Photography

95 9 1 0
You know how hard it is to find a quail on a bare aluminum pole? Nevermind... this borb is a male Gambel's Quail facing away from the camera but with his head turned around backwards. So he looks funny.

You know how hard it is to find a quail on a bare aluminum pole? Nevermind... this borb is a male Gambel's Quail facing away from the camera but with his head turned around backwards. So he looks funny.

Me (*yelling): "...AND AFTER THE 'AIRING OF GRIEVANCES', WE COME TO THE FEATS OF STRENGTH..."

๐Ÿชถ (*inner monologue): "...does he think this is a Festivus pole?"

๐ŸŒฟ A #Festivus for the rest of us, quail peeps! Have a sweet #TopKnotTuesday and Happy Holidays!! ๐Ÿค˜๐ŸŽ…๐Ÿค˜ See ya in 2026!!

๐Ÿ“ธC. gambelii #borb

56 9 1 0
From topknot to tailfeathers, a male Gambel's Quail shows off his gorgeous plumage while strutting across my fence in morning light.

From topknot to tailfeathers, a male Gambel's Quail shows off his gorgeous plumage while strutting across my fence in morning light.

๐ŸŒฟ Quail peeps! #TopKnotTuesday is the same birb I showed you last week, but different. ๐Ÿ˜ Look it up.

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii #119 ๐Ÿชถ

#Quail
#BirdLovers
#Photography
#BirdPhotography

74 9 0 0
What I call the 'racing stripes' on full display... with a happy male Gambel's Quail showing off his beautiful plumage with the rusty crown and topknot plume topping his head looking one way while his body is walking the other way, into the morning light...

What I call the 'racing stripes' on full display... with a happy male Gambel's Quail showing off his beautiful plumage with the rusty crown and topknot plume topping his head looking one way while his body is walking the other way, into the morning light...

Why should I be unhappy?
Every parcel of my being
is in full bloom.
~Rumi

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ Have a bloomin' #TopKnotTuesday peeps! ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ

#LookingAtYou
#BirdLovers
#EastCoastKin
#Photography
#TalonTuesday ๐Ÿง

143 17 4 1
A Gambel's Quail hen in profile turns her head to look right at you from the skeleton of a cholla cactus.

A Gambel's Quail hen in profile turns her head to look right at you from the skeleton of a cholla cactus.

๐Ÿชถ: "Who, me??"

Me: "Yes, you..."

๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ CyberMonday, my ass. Goin' riding! Have a sweet #TopKnotTuesday quail peeps!! ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿฆ

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii, #LookingAtYou

#BirdLovers
#Photography
#EastCoastKin

61 9 0 0
A male Gambel's Quail looks a little surprised he got caught this close up.

A male Gambel's Quail looks a little surprised he got caught this close up.

Me: "Ya know...some humans eat quail for Thanksgiving, bud..."

๐Ÿชถ: "..."

Me: "Not us. Lighten up, Francis..."

๐Ÿชถ: (*inner monologue) "...I'm sooo pooping on your patio furniture..."

๐ŸŒฟ Off early! Have a sweet #TopKnotTuesday! ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

#LookingAtYou ๐Ÿ‘๏ธ
#BirdLovers
#Photography

106 12 3 0
Two frames of my sweet backlit hen, both in 16:9, as they came off the camera, first in profile with her topknot facing forward and her crown highlighted in afternoon light...

Two frames of my sweet backlit hen, both in 16:9, as they came off the camera, first in profile with her topknot facing forward and her crown highlighted in afternoon light...

...and then with her head turned to look back, giving me a backlit crown and topknot plume the other way. Zen birding.

...and then with her head turned to look back, giving me a backlit crown and topknot plume the other way. Zen birding.

๐Ÿซ  TFW...a beautiful Gambel's Quail hen gives you the ol' 'get-my-good-side' head turn...while backlit. Both ways.

๐ŸŒฟ Have a double-sweet #TopknotTuesday peeps!! ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii ๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒž

#BirdPhotography
#LookingAtYou
#BirdLovers
#Photography

162 17 1 0

โ€œNo spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.โ€
~John Donne

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ Did you hear that?? ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿ‚ #AutumnVibes

#Autumn
#FeelingFall
#TopKnotTuesday
#Photography
#BirdLovers

79 11 0 0
Surrounded in a sea of scrub oak leaves just turning color for Fall and a dreamy bokeh background, a male Gambel's Quail standing sentry, but daydreaming until a second ago, looks back over his shoulder to finally spot me sneaking through the forest. Zen birding.

Surrounded in a sea of scrub oak leaves just turning color for Fall and a dreamy bokeh background, a male Gambel's Quail standing sentry, but daydreaming until a second ago, looks back over his shoulder to finally spot me sneaking through the forest. Zen birding.

And the sun took a step back,
the leaves lulled themselves to sleep
and #Autumn was awakened.
~Raquel Franco

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ ...actually, I called him 'Bob' ...but close enough. I feel seen. ๐ŸŒฟ

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail ๐Ÿชถ

#FeelingFall ๐Ÿ‚
#TopKnotTuesday
#AutumnVibes
#GreenTherapy
#EastCoastKin
#Photography
#BirdLovers

64 10 0 1
That's Cinnamon again...sticking her pretty face into frame right in front of her beau, so you get a male Gambel's Quail in bokeh as her background and another good look at her crown and topknot in profile.

That's Cinnamon again...sticking her pretty face into frame right in front of her beau, so you get a male Gambel's Quail in bokeh as her background and another good look at her crown and topknot in profile.

Nature and truth
are one and immutable,
and inseparable
as beauty and love.
~Anna Brownell Jameson

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ Have a sweet #TwosDay quail-peeps! ๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambelii ๐Ÿ’ž

#TopKnotTuesday
#BirdLovers
#EastCoastKin
#Photography
#Birding

104 18 3 0
Sometimes, when you're lucky, you get a hen with her crown feathers raised so you can see the cinnamon color hiding in those feathers right around the topknot plume, which seems oddly erect in this Gambel's Quail profile in morning light.

Sometimes, when you're lucky, you get a hen with her crown feathers raised so you can see the cinnamon color hiding in those feathers right around the topknot plume, which seems oddly erect in this Gambel's Quail profile in morning light.

So, I named her 'Cinnamon'...๐Ÿ˜

๐Ÿฆ๐ŸŒฟ That time I found out Gambel's Quail hens DO have some color on their crown, a plain gray-tan or brownish-gray color, duh, but sometimes with a "slight cinnamon" wash! ๐Ÿ“–๐Ÿง

๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ Now you know.

๐Ÿ“ธ Callipepla gambeliiโ™€๏ธ

#TopKnotTuesday ๐Ÿชถ
#BirdLovers
#Photography
#Birding

75 7 1 0
Besides those Ravens, we met some Quail over in the cholla patch. This male in the foreground is perched on a cholla 'skeleton' in profile, and I like the Mojave Desert backgound in bokeh.

Besides those Ravens, we met some Quail over in the cholla patch. This male in the foreground is perched on a cholla 'skeleton' in profile, and I like the Mojave Desert backgound in bokeh.

โ€œThere is something about the desert.โ€ฆ There is something there which the mountains, no matter how grand and beautiful, lack; which the sea, no matter how shining and vast and old, does not have.โ€
~Edward Abbey

๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ ...is it #TopKnotTuesday? ๐ŸŒฟ

#Birding ๐Ÿชถ
#BirdLovers
#EastCoastKin
#Photography

181 16 3 1
Gambel's Quail, a cock and a hen, walking away from me warily while still eyeballing me ...which backlights them in golden hour light.

Gambel's Quail, a cock and a hen, walking away from me warily while still eyeballing me ...which backlights them in golden hour light.

When your Gambel's Quail are backlit together...โœจ

...you get twice the highlighted crowns! Am I right, quail peeps? ๐Ÿชถ๐Ÿชถ #TwosDay

๐ŸŒฟ Have a sweet #TopKnotTuesday! ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ

#BirdLovers
#Photography

84 10 1 0
A mated pair of Gambel's Quail backlit on a boulder in the Mojave Desert.

A mated pair of Gambel's Quail backlit on a boulder in the Mojave Desert.

Two quail, one rock...

...because it's #TopKnotTuesday and #RockinTuesday! ๐Ÿค˜

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail lovebirbs ๐Ÿชถ๐ŸŒฟ

#BirdLovers
#Photography
#EastCoastKin
#Birding

62 7 0 0
After many tries, I figured out how to manipulate the Gambel's Quail into coming over the fence on the north side of the yard in sweet morning light, and this cute male was the first one to fall for it. Zen.

After many tries, I figured out how to manipulate the Gambel's Quail into coming over the fence on the north side of the yard in sweet morning light, and this cute male was the first one to fall for it. Zen.

Don't just stand there ffs...

...it's #TopKnotTuesday! ๐Ÿชถ

๐ŸŒฟ Off early, and heading for the hills! Peace!! โœŒ๏ธ

108 12 2 0
It's the desert...how cold can it be? Just cold enough to get a Gambel's Quail in full on borb mode, apparently... Zen birding.

It's the desert...how cold can it be? Just cold enough to get a Gambel's Quail in full on borb mode, apparently... Zen birding.

๐Ÿšจ #BorbAlert... on #TopKnotTuesday! ๐Ÿชถ

๐Ÿ“ธ Gambel's Quail โ™‚๏ธ

#BirdLovers
#Photography

45 5 2 0