Mountain Quail must be right up there with one of the most sought after species in Southern California, so when I took some friends from the east coast out birding today I had hoped that we might manage to have a brief encounter with a bird or two. Instead we had an incredible and prolonged encounter with at least a half dozen birds.
Mountain Quail – Luke Tiller
Even if you are lucky enough to run into Mountain Quail, views are generally brief as they dash across a road or disappear under brush as they scarper away up a nearby slope. If you are a tasty looking little chicken sized bird it is probably good to be pretty wary and these birds generally are.
Mountain Quail – Luke Tiller
It was interesting though to note that even in the relative open these birds blend quite nicely with their surrounds. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to show this beautiful species to numbers of tour participants in recent years but this encounter is probably the most spectacular. You can find out how to join me on my trips, tours and private guiding page.
Mountain Quail – Luke Tiller
Of course being friends with incredible photographers online means that I know that these shots aren’t perfect, but considering I have just a 300mm lens I’m pretty ecstatic with how they turned out. We also picked up a bunch of other goodies but after the quail experience it was hard to get motivated to take more photos. Amazing to think this is all just a stones throw from LAX!!!!
Mountain Quail – Luke Tiller
Under Clear Skies 
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