Give Them Water and They Will Come

I set up a tray of water in front of my photoblind and filled it with mossy rocks and gravel. It didn't take the birds long to find it and start using it. I could hear the quail long before I could see them. They were calling back and forth below me near the road. The calls got closer and closer and then went dead. Then my brain slowly kicked in and spoke to me. "Hey there is a pair of California Quail on the rock in front of you!" I must admit my reaction time was a bit on the long side. Which probably helped because I didn't thrash about and scare the quail away. I took my time with some restraint and recomposed the camera onto them. At first I was way too tight so I just took a portrait of the male. Then I backed off and I was able to get the full body of the male and then the female. A really nce way to spend a bit of my morning. Have a blessed week, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 USM L IS lens supported on a Manfrotto Tripod 190 XPROB with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. #TeamCanon