Hop-A-Long and her Boe.
To tell this story it helps to understand how California Quail live. I have not studied or read about these birds so the facts I talk about are from actual observation of what they do around here during the year. And it is always the same, year after year. In the winter they rest, hide a lot, feed and get along quite nicely. In the spring the males get very competitive and boisterous with each other in trying to win the female of their choice. It is with no surprise at the speed that they fly and in particular when they run over ground, that some of them suffer injuries to their feet and/or legs. We see this quite often and we know the end result. In every case, it is not a good one. Eventually the chasing and squabbling ends and they pair up and get ready to become parents. Some have their little ones around May others wait till June. Both male and female take on the huge task of looking after their chicks right into late fall, early winter, at which time the offspring have developed to become strong flyers and are able to fend for themselves. This dedication, and the care the parents take to raise and protect their chicks is without compromise and is something to see to be believed.
And so our true story starts in the early spring of 2006 when the battle is on to select a mate. Our notice turned to one female that was not selected by any male while all others had paired up. It was probably due to a noticeable limp in her walk that she was not selected to carry on the duty of being a parent. At first the limp was slight, but as the days wore on it got worse. We noticed the difficulty she had to keep up with the others which consisted of about a dozen pair of quail. Sometimes, we put a name to some of our wild creatures; so in this case we called her Hop-A-Long. For a few weeks Hop-A-Long just went about eating and trying to fit in, but with no male at her side. Then, suddenly, just as we thought it was too late, a lone male "adopted" her. It was one that could have had a mate earlier but lost out, and to our astonishment, he too had an injured leg and had a limp, although not as severe as Hop-A-Long. This is what I found most astounding, that a male, not one in perfect health but one that was handicapped like Hop-A-Long, decided to stand up to the challenge of being the male protector. It seems that nature has it's ways and in this case it found a solution. Here, male and female, both injured, might have a chance to start a family. Hop-A-Long and her Boe were now foraging with the other pairs of quail, both enjoying each others company and even managed to mate. But, as the days passed the female's limp got increasingly worse, which was slowing her down greatly. This did not deter Boe at all. He would wait for her to catch up or just stand guard as she was feeding or resting for as long as it took. And sometimes, it was a long, long wait. As time progressed, it became so difficult for Hop-A-Long to move around that even flying became too difficult due to her weakness and soon, she could fly no longer. She was reduced to hopping from one location to another then resting for extended periods, with Boe always there looking out and waiting for her. Hop-A-Long was probably carrying eggs, and I wonder if it was due to the extra weight that made it more difficult for her. Boe's condition with his injured leg stayed about the same, and as dedicated as ever to her. At dusk, all the quail would fly up into our trees for protection throughout the night. As Hop-A-Long could no longer fly into the trees, she resorted instead, to hiding in selected clumps of high grass for the night. Boe, even though it was very dangerous, stayed close by during the night. As good as these hiding spots on the ground were, they would not be enough protection against night time predators. But, it was the best they could do. Finally, Hop-A-Long was discovered by a predator during one night, and all that was left in her resting spot in the morning was a small pile of feathers. We knew it had to end this way but hoped it would never happen.
Boe continued on for several weeks on his own, but eventually he too disappeared never to be seen again. We will always remember Boe's loyalty to Hop-A-Long, and the struggle of both, to never give up. |
