Grow with God: Quail Family

I was at the dining room table working on my laptop when I looked up, and there by my patio door was a family of quail--two adults and five tiny chicks. They were feasting on the colony of ants gathered near the screen door.

How exciting. I think they would have come in the house if the door had been open! Fairly quickly, the adults flew up on top of our fence and squawked their commands. The chicks followed obediently. When Mama and Papa flew into the next yard, I thought, No way can those babies get over that six-foot fence. But sure enough, they flew--awkwardly--and joined their parents in the next yard offering up juicy bugs.

Ours is a quail-friendly yard: no dogs, no kids, no huge desert tortoise (our neighborhood has one), lots of bugs, and Bermuda grass with abundant seed sprouts. We often get quail visitors and it makes me smile every time.

Why am I so enamored of quail?

They travel in close-knit family groups, often in a long conga line
The little ones obey Mom and Dad--one squawk and they respond
Dad often sits atop the fence keeping an eye out for danger while his family eats
They run funny

Protective Parents and Obedient Children: quite the formula for success.

I do some volunteer work with the Foster Care system in Arizona. It breaks my heart when I read of children abused or uncared for by their own parents. A thought that runs through my mind is, "Even animals instinctively care for their young. It's only the human animal that..."

Several years ago, Disney put out an entertaining documentary called Bears. While watching I was mesmerized at how adept Mama Bear was at teaching her cubs to hunt for food. God created that instinct. It's in humans, too, but we need to tap into it and take precautions to preserve it.

I am outraged when I read that humans sometimes choose: