California Quail on the Tuolumne River

The California Quail (Callipepla californica) is not an uncommon bird (especially in California, where it is our state bird). But I don't see it all that often on the Tuolumne River Parkway trail in Waterford. The trail has become rather popular, which is a good thing, but it does mean that these mostly ground-dwelling birds don't really like to hang out on the trail so much. I looked it up, and I haven't seen any since last January. But there are a couple of offshoot trails leading to fishing spots and the like, and I'll occasionally step off the beaten track, and will sometimes see some interesting species.

Today, it was an entire covey of eleven or twelve quail. I only got a pair of them in a picture before they scattered into the brush.