California quail - persistence pays off.

California Quail photographed early in the morning in Nanaimo, BC.

Two days ago I hiked the trail around Buttertub's Marsh in Nanaimo, BC.  I got a few good shots; the photo I posted previous to this one on the red-winged blackbird was one of them.  As I neared the end of the trail I saw two partridge-like birds.  They were much larger than a robin and were definitely rotund looking.  I saw them briefly and then only from the rear.  There was one feature which stood out, and that was two parallel white lines that started mid back and proceeded towards the tail.  They ducked into some bush as I approached and disappeared completely.  I searched for a few minutes to no avail.  I gave up and moved on.

Back where I was staying I logged onto whatbird.com and placed the parameters I knew into my query.  I was given twelve or so possible suspects.  None of them really did it for me though, and the two parallel lines I saw did not reveal who the culprits were.  Discouraged, but not beaten, I decided I would need to return to the metaphoric crime scene and try to find them again.  This morning I had that chance.

Up at sunrise and loaded for bear (or even a partridge-like bird) I headed out to Buttertub's with the hope of discovering what the elusive bird was.  It was early dawn and the light was modest at best, so I had my camera's ISO pumped up to 3200.  The 600 mm focal length (900 mm relative) would do the job if the subject would cooperate.  A manual shutter speed of 1/125 of a second was the best I could muster, the vibration mitigation system would have to come through in a big way.  And so I retraced my steps from my previous jaunt.

Many of the birds were still tucked away in their roosts when I arrived.  There were not as many visible species or calls as I saw before.  Perhaps my ambitions were premature.  However, I continued the trek and eventually came to the scene where it all took place.  I was not disappointed.  There, on the trail ahead of me, were two birds - the two white lines betraying their identity.  I knew this time what my quarry was, as the bobble atop their heads was clearly visible now.  I got some shots off and managed to capture some decent images, given the dim conditions.

Persistence had paid off.  I am not always so fortunate with such endeavors but am thankful when it does.