Q is for Quail

Today was a fun day! I am really enjoying British Columbia... the birds and scenery don't get much better! This morning we saw a nice variety of birds at a rest stop along the highway! We picked up Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-naped Sapsukers and more! We continued driving up and down mountains to get to Osoyoos to bird. Osoyoos is a very beautiful city that doesn't seem like it belongs in North America. It is also the home to some excellent birds! We found at least three pairs of Osprey, two on nests, and I picked up five life birds: Long-billed Curlew, Black-headed Grosbeak, Cinnamon Teal, California Quail, and Yellow-breasted Chat!

The quail was so cute, and I found him just by luck! After I found him, I later saw two females and Margaret found another female leading seven young quail across the path! I looked in time to see the last one scurrying behind. It was fun to see that quail because I remember quails from my ABC flashcards as a young child. I always remember seeing the funny bird on the Q is for Quail card and thinking there wasn't really a bird that looked like that!

California Quail

So far on the trip I have seen 55 life birds!! I also hit another milestone on my life list; the Long-billed Curlew made 100 life birds that I have seen just this year! I left Ohio with 290 species on my list and I currently have 345! How many do you think I will end up with by the time I return to Ohio?

A view of Osoyoos from a mountain