Nesting

Remember the container garden? Of course you do, that wasn't all that long ago. Well, you couldn't see it in those pictures, but right behind the stacked pots, just to the right up against the side of the steps, there was a small clutch of eggs. I felt bad after I'd pulled all the weeds and plants, exposing the nest, but I was careful not to disturb it further as I planted and positioned my pots. I left it as sheltered as possible, but I worried I'd already done the damage.

Saturday, as I was pointing out some of my favorite plants to my sister, I just about fell off the steps when a quail suddenly burst out from behind the pots, flapping and fluttering. It flew all the way up into the maple tree on the other side of the driveway, and quail just don't generally get much height when they fly, you know.

That poor thing, it scolded us for a good 20 minutes, at least.

The next day, I could see there were more eggs in the nest (I counted at least a dozen).

(big thanks to my brother for this great picture of the eggs!) So, obviously, not abandoned, but no sign of the mama.

Monday night, returning home from work, as I approached the front door, there she was! It was all I could do not to startle her, I was so excited to see her.

Can you see her there? I drew arrows in red, but they're hard to see. Let me give you a close-up of just the bird:

can you see it? (yikes, that's blurry!)

Isn't that just the coolest thing?

Sorry the picture quality isn't better. In an effort not to disturb the nesting mama, I tried to get the picture without getting too close, but I don't have telescopic zoom. Plus, these guys are pretty good at camouflage. She chose to nest here because it's out of the way, and she can blend in with the cement and dirt. My Twins think it's not the best spot for a nest, but the bird had other ideas.

She's still there as of this morning. And she was there last night after that sudden rain, too.