RIP Duckies

RIP Bumblefoot's mate

This is the time of year that can be tough because that's when you lose your favorite friends.  Always happens, every year about this time.  Usually, I start to feel good about this time of year because I feel that the worse is over with the ducks surviving the long, dark coyote nights of winter.  And, breeding season is winding down, so I feel good about the females that survive this time.  I thought we were beginning to head into the good time of year of ducklings and healthy ducks.  But, nope, that's when the favorites start to die or disappear.

I found out that it was Bumblefoot's mate that was the source of all the feathers under the osprey nest at Lake Murray.  Apparently, he died at about the same time that Cinnamon disappeared.  His body was found near where he and Bumblefoot like to lay and wait for people to feed them.  Bumblefoot, who can barely walk sometimes, is OK and seems to be very lonely.  She is looking for male companionship with the mallards who don't find her attractive.  The other male Pekin that used to hang out with them has deserted the area.

Bumblefoot alone.

Bumblefoot does not want to come near me anymore and does not respond to her name.  Her mate was so friendly and often brought her over to me when I called.  But, she is cold to me now.

I also found out that when Cinnamon was last seen, she had a profound limp for an unknown reason.  It could have been a fishing line injury, but I'm not sure.  It looks like she was last seen the day she disappeared last week.  When I last saw her, she was healthy and vibrant.  Now, I suspect she may have been drowned by her mates.  But, I hope she's maybe on a nest or perhaps taken to a rescue, though I haven't heard any reports of anyone rescuing her.

Cinnamon about 10 days before she disappeared.

Gaddy and his mate are also missing, but I suspect they just moved to a different area and she could be on a nest.  Good news about Neo:  His wing seems to be much better and I think he will be flying, soon.  He is still hanging out with Indy and Indy's brother who are always play-fighting.  Nothing serious, just a little wrestling between boys.

In killdeer news, I still haven't seen Junior.  He generally arrives around mid-April, though last year he arrived in early March with his mate arriving in mid-April.  I'm hoping he's OK.

I think this might be his ultra-friendly son.

Big Stretch!

Smudge is so cute and friendly:

Smudge's young mate:

Squeak, Smudge's mother, was seen in the ballfields with Pollux, her mate.  They were harassing another male in the fields.  I think that other male might be Smudge's brother who should be off on his own getting his own mate.  It wasn't serious, but I think Pollux is annoyed by his presence.
 

Cinnamon's missing

I visited the lake to check up on Bitey and Neo this afternoon and noticed all of Cinnamon's boyfriends by the boat dock--but no Cinnamon.

Later, I came back and found all her boyfriends where I usually see her this time of day, but, still, no Cinnamon.  I looked up and down everywhere and found not even a feather of her.  There is a lot of brush there, though, so she could have been stashed anywhere around there.  Or, she could be sitting on a nest.  I did hear a nearby hissing when I passed by a certain bush near where I usually see her.  But, that could have been a human or even another duck on a nest.  I looked through the bushes and still found no sign of her.

I've never seen this happen before.

I did finally find Oreo among all the other boyfriends.  They, then, all swam together around and around.  Usually, when they're with Cinnamon, they root around along the shore.  But, not tonight.  They just swam around.

Bitey is doing fine, by the way.  And, I thought I saw Neo pull his wing into a normal position for a second.  He's hanging out with Indy who bullies around Bitey.  Later, Indy, his brother, and Neo all went to this one area, but some people fishing threw rocks at him.  Indy and his brother flew off, but Neo was having a hard time getting away and I think he might have gotten hit.  :(

Lake Update, Drizzly Day

The day started out with a California thrasher and what sounded like a black-headed grosbeak.  I couldn't find the grosbeak, but here's a photo of the thrasher:

Pollux and his son were over in Junior's territory harassing Junior's son.  I think this is Pollux, though I'm not sure because he has the chopped-feathered appearance of a juvenile, though those are his markings:

This looks like his son:

And, I think this is Junior's son:

In the ballfields, the Cooper's hawk was making multiple attacks against Killer Junior and Little Miracle.  Here is Killer Junior:

And, Little Miracle:

They were both still OK when I last saw them.

Here is Zippy and Skippy with their mom, Yellowcheeks:

Skippy's bill is turning green like a male's.  Later, he saw some fish jumping around and went to chase them, but didn't catch any.

Cinnamon has the attention of most of the large male ducks at the lake.  Here she is with five of the seven who usually associate with her:

Shy Neo let me take his picture today.  He doesn't like to have his picture taken anymore:

Unfortunately, we may have to say goodbye to the gorgeous blue Swedish duck dropped off last year.  He has been missing for about a week and I saw a pile of feathers across the little bay that look like they might be his.  It's possible a coyote or some other predator carried him off and that could also why Pepper has been hiding a lot, lately.  It's been almost exactly a year since he arrived.  

His friend, this Welsh Harlequin, is the last of the three ducks dropped off last September.  The other was a buff female who died a few months ago.  Now, he is alone.

We also should probably say good -bye to one of Cinnamon's boyfriends, the crested duck in the next photo behind the duck in front with the all gray breast.  He was sick for a long time last April/May and I remember seeing a big pile of feathers in the area where was was convalescing.  However, I wasn't sure if he was really gone as all the ducks were molting and sometimes his crest is not visible when he molts and he disappears in the summer, sometimes.  But, now that the ducks are getting their colors back, I can tell he is gone for sure.  He was actually at least a year older than Cinnamon, perhaps even older, so he did have a long life there.
 

The western grebes are still there.  This one likes to make a krieeeek krieeek sound that's pretty cool:

His two friends are over here: