Al,
I did not mean the birds you feed and watch per say but the "wild" ones... I used to raise chukars for dog training and always ended up keeping a few around just to watch.
That quail was lucky that Chili has a soft mouth....my dog would have made lunch out of it, he is half lab and half border collie, a mut...good dog but not the best for hunting. I was given him when he was 2, well behaved just thinks that every other bird is his to eat.
The snake - around this part of northern Utah most rattlesnakes are less than 3 feet and are only found in select areas. Some of the best areas to find them is in the riparian zone along the streams that flow through rocky canyons with dry hillsides. They seem to like that interface between dry hillside and the riparian zone.
Matt