Theres a new family in the neighborhood

We are Gambles Quail and we have found the best place to live.  Jim and Donna's back yard.  We were born sometime around June 13th.  There are 10 of us, plus Mom and Dad.  We are really hard to keep track of because we run around and explore everything.

 



Most of the time we follow Mom around and she teaches us everything.

We have learned what to look for in the grass and what is good to eat.



Someday my plume will be as big as Dads. 



We got to meet some other birds in the yard and some of them were not very nice to us. 



He kept yelling something about having 10 more mouths to feed in the yard.



I just closed my eyes and hoped he went away.



We also met a rabbit.  We didn't know what to think at first.



The rabbit was really excited and chased us around.

He just kept smelling us and then hopping in circles.  Finally Dad had to tell him to stay away because he was just a little too happy to meet us.

There are big grumpy monsters in the yard and we run away from them.  They are very big and have spikes on their backs.

We also learned about predator birds.  We had to hide for a long time and be very quiet when this one came into the yard.  It was very scary but Mom and Dad knew just what to do (and the crazy lady from inside the house came running out and scared it away - after she took its picture).



The scariest thing we learned was to jump off the wall.  Mom and Dad kept encouraging us from the bottom to jump. 

Finally we all got the courage to jump.

We learned that its easier to jump down the wall than to go up.  We haven't been able to go up the wall since we don't fly yet.

We have founds lots of places to explore and play.

Dad has a big responsibility to keep us safe.  He watches over us and tells us when to go and hide. 
 

For now, our life is happy.  We like this yard and we hope we can stay here forever.