Saw the first baby Mountain Quail this afternoon. I heard an adult 'covey call' as I call it outside my bedroom window. In the driveway was a female with two tiny chicks. One was having some trouble moving around because of a bad leg. But the male adult was very patient waiting for it to keep up as they moved about the yard. The threesome moved south across the lawn and a moment later I heard another adult covey call from another part of the yard. In the long grass and fern stalks just off the west side of the lawn was a female with six chicks. These chicks seemed a day or two older than the first two. The past two days I've been a distress call from the east side of the yard so I figured the babies must have hatched but today was the first I've seen them. Cute little buggers and even at the very young age of two or three days old already are showing the beginnings of the crest which will become their head plumes. From checking my records the babies are about a week earlier than past years. Hopefully the other quail will be a successful as last year in the number of youngsters produced. Happy birding Mary HrudkajBelfair/Tahuya