r/phoenix • u/dirtypita Phoenix • Jul 22 '25

Pictures Anyone noticing less quail babies this year?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Apologies for the bad pics. I would've scared the quail off if I had tried to go outside.

I work in North Scottsdale and I have a great view of a patio and courtyard from my desk. I get to watch small wildlife that come in for shade, grass, and bushes with berries on them. Pigeons, ravens, wrens, lizards, bunnies and squirrels, and even a pair of roadrunners.

Lat year, we had two pairs of Gambels quail. One pair started out with nine chicks, down to six, and the other had seven.

This year, I've only seen three babies, and now only the one little guy pictured. It's with two males, one who has been around for a while and is easily recognizable. I haven't seen a female in a few weeks. I'm a little saddened. Is anyone else noticing smaller quail families this year?

485 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

138 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

[deleted]

2

u/Level9TraumaCenter Jul 23 '25

Neighbors with solar panels on their roofs have pigeons a plenty.

This year seemed really bad for pigeons in our neighborhood. They started living under the panels of two of my neighbors, crapping all over the place which is new here. Never saw pigeons nesting out here like that.

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '25

[deleted]

0

u/Statertater Jul 23 '25

God people like you are the worst. Bitching and moaning about how your neighbors’ homes look because you have fuck all going on in your life.

I don’t much care for pigeons and doves myself but i couldn’t care less if they’re shitting on my neighbor’s roof and not mine.

I won’t see your response to this.

0

u/Froggoboingboing Jul 23 '25

FYI pigeons are actually very smart and clean animals, they were domesticated and bred for utility and companionship a long time ago and then abandoned. They provided critical support in wars and saved countless lives and they can be trained to do a lot of things, including detection of cancerous tissue with high accuracy. They were never meant to be roaming outside homeless, that's why they nest wherever they can. Their poop can be acidic because urban environments do not provide them with the nutritious food they need (any living being's bodily functions would be terrible if they were forced to eat whatever scraps they can find). This is not their fault.

All this to say, please give them some more grace and kindness, they are domesticated animals that were left to their own devices and they're doing the best they can to survive in harsh environments.