Brownsville Birds: Texas Quail

On 2020-04-06, I was staying at the Breeze Lake RV Park in Brownsville. Because of the pandemic, access to South Padre Island was cut off for all but residents. I had an errand to run that took me to Port Isabel. While looking for roadside birds, I met my first Northern Bobwhites grazing in a grassy flat. They were near enough to get group photos, but too far for satisfying portraits. I watched the direction they were moving as they foraged, then I repositioned my van to a place I thought they might move to. I was lucky in my guess, because before long the covey appeared directly in front of me.

Later, I did some research and found science has divided these well-studied birds into 22 subspecies, some were once considered separate species. When conditions are favorable, Bobwhites may raise three broods in a season, which can be up to 25 chicks. Yet despite this rate of procreation, habitat loss has resulted in a diminishing population, with declines estimated at 85% from 1966 to 2014.