Okay, SO! Yesterday when I went out and fed my quail, the one pen I opened up my beloved "Cricket" flew up and out of the pen like a startled grouse....he flew about 60 ft up in the air and landed at the end of our property. I closed the pens up and calmly made my way to him. Hoping I could snatch him before he got nervous and flew off again (normally I catch them...and normally their wings are clipped--his WERE clipped he must have molted them and regrew them in time) however he faced me and flew off towards me and the whole way down to our neighbors house...which is across the road I gave up. I was sad to loose Cricket but I didnt want to tresspass and plus, I was pretty sure if I even attempted it he'd just fly off again, he was yards away with woods all over him, dogs and everything.--not to mention feral cats...i truely thought he was a gonner.
Well, today I went out and fed the quail, and I heard a quiet chirping of one of the quail...i thought for a second...*could that be cricket??......nahh....* fed them all then went inside. Well it had been a few hours since then, I took my bird dog Merelin outside to potty before I get ready to go grocery shopping, and I heard a loud coturnix yelking, but it sounded just like it was coming from the quail pens so I ignored it. Merelin was done potting in the fenced in area so I turned around to walk the path back into the house and there was NO other than CRICKET! Standing directly infront of me peeping away! I didnt have time to be excited about seeing him because if Merelin spotted him he'd either have scared off Cricket or caught him and possibly injured him. So i turned back around told Merelin to potty again (im sure he was confused) and locked him in the fence. I walked up to Cricket who was now happily pecking at a peice of grass sticking out of the fence. So I just walked up and picked him up!!!!!
Through snow, predators, cars, and all night long and most of this morning Cricket was on his own, and found his way home!?!?! Homing Quails a new thing? Nah i doubt it, but this is deffinatly a miracle!!!
I brought him inside and fed him and snapped a picture of him. He's actually the bird in my main picture (when he was a fledgling)---so he looks different now...gosh I'm soooo happy to have him back!!!!
A little skinnier (who knows where he went...though he had to have flown alot to get back....) but no worse for the wear not even one feather out of place and no frostbite!!!! Wow..... he's napping on my carpet right now lol!!!
Just ot give you an idea...we live on top of the mountain on the side of a valley in the woods....so fox, ANYTHING could have snatched him up...hawks especially we have a ton of them here.
Well, today I went out and fed the quail, and I heard a quiet chirping of one of the quail...i thought for a second...*could that be cricket??......nahh....* fed them all then went inside. Well it had been a few hours since then, I took my bird dog Merelin outside to potty before I get ready to go grocery shopping, and I heard a loud coturnix yelking, but it sounded just like it was coming from the quail pens so I ignored it. Merelin was done potting in the fenced in area so I turned around to walk the path back into the house and there was NO other than CRICKET! Standing directly infront of me peeping away! I didnt have time to be excited about seeing him because if Merelin spotted him he'd either have scared off Cricket or caught him and possibly injured him. So i turned back around told Merelin to potty again (im sure he was confused) and locked him in the fence. I walked up to Cricket who was now happily pecking at a peice of grass sticking out of the fence. So I just walked up and picked him up!!!!!
Through snow, predators, cars, and all night long and most of this morning Cricket was on his own, and found his way home!?!?! Homing Quails a new thing? Nah i doubt it, but this is deffinatly a miracle!!!
I brought him inside and fed him and snapped a picture of him. He's actually the bird in my main picture (when he was a fledgling)---so he looks different now...gosh I'm soooo happy to have him back!!!!
A little skinnier (who knows where he went...though he had to have flown alot to get back....) but no worse for the wear not even one feather out of place and no frostbite!!!! Wow..... he's napping on my carpet right now lol!!!
Just ot give you an idea...we live on top of the mountain on the side of a valley in the woods....so fox, ANYTHING could have snatched him up...hawks especially we have a ton of them here.
