All ducks get into the water!

All ducks get into the water! (because there's a hawk nearby!)

And, they did:

It was a juvenile red-shouldered hawk being harassed by the gulls:

And, all the ducks stayed in deep water while it was there on that tree branch.  Fish Food Mama made alarm calls.

Later, the hawk went out to look for Skippy and Zippy, but I think they were well hidden.

I saw this juvenile killdeer in George's territory, but I don't think it's the same one I used to see there before because it has no spots on it like the last one and I think it's a male.  He does look a lot like a fat George or Junior, though.

Nom, nom, nom, nom, yum bugs!

A word about Pekins at the lake:

Each time I visit the lake, it seems like I see more and more Pekin ducks, lately.  Before June, there were only four Pekin ducks at the lake, now there is 11 and I wonder when all the Pekin duck dumping is going to stop.  I hate it when they die because they all don't live very long out there in the wild and they're so sweet and loveable, you can't help getting attached to them.

Saturday morning at the lake

The two ducklings are still there, but don't seem to be growing normally, though they are feathering out correctly for their age of almost three weeks.

Here is the yellow-ish duckling:

 Zippy, or the black duckling.  Something also seems to be wrong with her eyes.  Actually, both of their eyes don't look right.  Zippy seemed a little tired-er than usual, too.

Mom is very good at handling predators so far.  There were gulls and herons to deal with today, but, last I saw them, they were OK and safe.

These dumped 3 month old Pekins are doing well and squeak-waaak at me.  The leader came right up and checked out my hand to see if I had a treat, but they all left when they realized I had no food.  Then, suddenly, they all ran into the water.  Finger-biter and Chocolate were swimming by and I think they are scared of them.

I found an osprey feather today under the osprey nest.  By law, I can't take it home, so I just looked at it and took a photo.  But, I have a feeling that someone else picked it up, anyway.

The young killdeer, whom I think are two of Junior's chicks, were together.  Here is the female:

Here is the male, whom is very protective of the female.

I did not see Bossy or Neo today, nor did I see the other two ducklings someone says lives in a different area than the two that I have been photographing.