Sitting at my desk, I have the perfect view of anyone or anything coming into our yard. We hung a bird feeder right outside the window, so I can keep an eye on my little friends. It was while I was sitting here that I spotted the first roadrunner, and the other day it was quail. I think it is a Gambel’s quail, which looks almost the same as a California quail- but I am totally bird-challenged. But I am sure at least that it is a quail- that’s one of the three or so birds I am actually able to identify. I have seen them down the street- and actually all over Prescott- but never before in our yard.
I noticed two of these guys in the “flower” bed out front ( we haven’t yet replanted the bed with the annuals that were here when we moved in), so I grabbed my camera. I tiptoed out the front door, and came face- to-face with them on my porch. They skittered up the rocks to a bush that is usually filled with finches and the two mourning doves that hang out with them. I then saw that there was a big group (a covey or bevy) of 15 to 20 of them under the bushes. When I started clicking my camera- zoomed in from 15 feet or so away, they started heading out into the street, led by one of the quail from the front porch. They then took flight over to the field across the street and disappeared.
This photo is severely cropped, and there is a texture and blur added to the background.
melinda anderson photography 
It almost looks like embroidery.
they are my favorites here in the desert, I usually have a family or two every year that makes a home in my back yard or on my front courtyard. When the babies hatch they are so small and just the cutest little things following in a line. They are just awesome, you are in for a treat this coming year with them.