Numbers chapter 11, part 2

At the end of chapter 11, we read that  a wind drove flocks of quail in from the sea to the camp so that the ground was covered with them to a depth of three feet out to a distance of a day's walk. When I read this I had many questions.

-First of all, the quail I am familiar with wouldn't have come from the sea, so what birds are these? I learned that there are many kinds of birds called quail, so these might be old world quail which are related to gulls, auks and other shore birds. It is not possible to know exactly what kind of birds these were.

-Then I remembered that gulls are not considered clean birds according to Leviticus chapter 11. So, I asked Google, "Are quail kosher birds? "  The answer is: I don't know. Apparently, there are differing ideas on this. Some rabbis say yes, some say no. If they were not clean, it might explain what happens later.

-Next I asked myself, how realistic is it that quail would lie on the ground in drifts up to three feet deep, in a radius of a day's walking distance? Not likely.

*The text then tells us that noone gathered any less than ten homers of quail, which is about 60 bushels a piece. I've got another question. Were these bird alive or dead when they were gathered? If they were dead, everyone  that handled them would have become "unclean."

*Also, what a pain it must have been to prepare all those quail to eat. First, they would have to have had their heads cut off and be drained of blood. Remember blood is also unclean. Then, they would have to be plucked clean of feathers, and that is not a pleasant job. Last of all, they must be cooked over an open fire, the only kind of fire the Israelites would have had. But I guess if they were starving for meat, they might not have minded.

*Well, none of that mattered. Just as the Israelites were about to have a quail feast, Yahweh struck them with a plague. Even though the text doesn't say it, the implication is that the plague killed all those people who had wanted other food besides manna, because they were buried there. In reality, it can't have been very many people because the main body of Israelites lives on, or else we wouldn't have a continuing saga to read tomorrow.

*One thing I noticed about this story is that it happened almost exactly a year after the last quail and manna story. (Exodus 16) But that time, God gave them quail to eat without striking them with a plague. Why was this time different?