Did we lose a quail?

By Mary Alice Murphy

I'm deciding one lesson that Gambel's quail should learn, especially the young ones, is not to make so much noise.

I was at my computer this morning and heard the quail calling in the backyard. That's not unusual, but it's usually just a call here and there. As they got closer to the house, I counted eight or nine quail, including Mama and Papa quail and their adolescents.

All were foraging along the ground for seeds put out by junipers, piñons and all the native grasses we have growing on our property.

The teenagers kept squabbling over a seed or two. There would be an eruption up into the air of two birds arguing. The arguments got louder and then all of a sudden, a loud ruckus followed by utter silence.

I looked out the window and a medium-sized hawk was in a low tree near where the quail had been eating. I didn't get a good look, as the branches partially obscured it.

All of a sudden, two quail burst up and flew as fast as they could toward the west. The hawk remained in place, but moving down branch by branch toward the ground. One quail burst up and headed eastward with the hawk in fast pursuit. I suspect that quail might have met its demise, as the hawk was a lot faster than the quail.

Then quail were bursting up into the air and flying in all directions. They probably should have stayed put, but they didn't.

We heard a great-horned owl last night, moving closer and farther away. Probably keeping his night-vision eyes out for prey. Wonder if he found food.

It's always survival of the fittest in the wild world. Perhaps we should learn lessons from them. Don't do stupid things like flying off on your own. A hawk is not going to chase two birds, because it knows that he'll have to make a decision to go after only one and probably will lose both.

May your musings bring you beauty.