This is the 3rd trip trying to photograph these birds, finally got a couple of chances in southern Arizona. Skittish bird that never stands still and freeks out when they hear a camera shutter.
Hope you enjoy.

What a cute little fat bird

Different looking bird for sure

Outstanding as usual, Tray!

I saw them at White Sands Missile Range in NM. Very cool birds. And smart

Tray that is stunning . There are some in the Bitteroot valley S of missoula ,I was there looking at some farm equipment in akind of ag junk yard and they were scurring around ,quite a surprise for me ,first time to see them .

I could be wrong but I think most of the quail in Montana are California Quail, they look real similar.

I need to look for the pictures but I had one here in northern MN 10-15-20 years ago. It was here for a couple of weeks and sang its crazy head off. I assume it had to have been pen raised. Somewhere in my stuff I have a pile of pictures of it.

Great shots and dedication to get them. Thanks for sharing. What equipment are you using and how close were you able to get to get your shots?

Could be but what ever they are they are not native. Great pictures thank you

Only God Almighty could create something so beautiful .

Real nice shots!!

Thanks for the great pictures of the Gambel"s quail. I raised them for many years. They were my favorite of the American quail species I raised. They sing better. They are much less flighty than the various subspecies of Bluescale Quail I raised. They are better breeders and have better personalities than the similar California Valley Quail. I would like to have some again.

Keith

I’m using a big lens for this, 500mm.
I’m probably about 20 yards away from them, close enough they could hear the shutter click of the camera.

Pretty pics.

Can't you silence the shutter on a digital camera since it's a digitally created sound?

The new mirrorless cameras are silent, my Nikon D500 has a shutter in it that makes a little noise. Usually not a big deal as most animals pay no attention to it. Coyotes had been the exception until I started shooting these quail.

Nice

Wow! Beautiful thanks for posting the pictures.

Wilson would be proud