A Pair of Wintery Gray Partridges Drop By

Male Gray Partridge on the snow bank
in my front yard. (Taken through the front door...) © SB

All winter, small flocks of Gray Partridges have visited our front yard.

Six, eight, fourteen...

We see their footprints crisp in the snow, their bodies blurred in the pale blue light that rises before dawn here in Regina, SK.

These birds startle easily, and any movements by our door — like standing beside it or opening it  — send them cackling into dimly lit flight.

Finally, a pair dropped by in the warm cloud-haze of noon.

Finally, a pair sauntered down the sidewalk for me, instead of immediately taking to wing.

Finally, I have Partridge shots that make me happy just to see their orange heads, gray necks and streaked brown feathers.

And yes, for anyone doing sex-sorting, the male is the one with the much redder head; the female is overall more brown. A pair! It must be spring!

Just a closer walk along the sidewalk... Really, it's safe? This one was taken after they walked 
behind the van and I crept outside to stalk them with a long lens.  © SB

What are these? Gray Partridges.  

Location: On a snow bank in my front yard and along the sidewalk in front of my neighbour's house, Regina, Saskatchewan
Photo dates: March 14, 2014. 

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