2 families continue to blend

George on his way to give the M6 dad "what for"

At sunset tonight, I went to check on George and his family and noticed that Shy and her dad were still in the area. It's still a little hard for me to tell exactly who was who because they often fluff up and puff out their chests when interacting with each other. But, as far as I could tell, the group tonight was made up of: George, Tiny, Killer, Shy, M6 Dad, and Firecracker. I think Martha came just as it got dark to take Firecracker back with her.

Shy is definitely interested in Killer and I've noticed her making displays to him and preening/bathing in his presence.

I think this is Killer (right) and Shy (left)

The M6 dad, I think, has taken a little bit of interest in Firecracker, but is mostly spending his time running from George and interacting with Tiny. So far, there has been no physical contact, mostly chasing, calls and puffing up.

I think this is the M6 dad (left) and George (right), but not sure if that's the M6 dad on the left.

Everything else seems fine, Shy got a feather stuck to her foot. It was funny to see her running around with it. But, she got it off eventually. All the ducks seem fine, even Tom the Muscovy duck is not scratching as much and his feathers look healthy. He even flew into the water, which is a good sign that he is feeling good.

It was very muddy by the lake and I actually got my foot totally stuck. I lost my shoes and had to dig them out of the mud. The killdeer's feet are better designed for the mud than mine, but they still had problems with sinking, I can see. But, not as much. I hope they don't get stuck in the mud, I don't want to see a dead killdeer there when I visit because one got stuck. But, I think they're not having that big a problem. Mostly, they avoid this spot or they fly before they get too stuck. I have to give them credit, they're not stupid. The only way I think they could get stuck is if they're forced to stand there a long time because of predatory activity.

Killdeer tracks in the mud

Busy day for Martha and the kids: Visitors

Martha (back left), Shy and Tiny (front, right)

Today was a busy day in George's territory and it was hard to figure out what, exactly, was going on or who was doing what. First, I think, it started out with the M6 dad and Shy stopping by on the north side of the main parkinglot during the foggy part of the morning. Shy was actually very curious about everything, but her dad was wound up and kept doing alarm and check calls every time he saw any humans in his sight.

I guess Martha and Tiny heard the noise because they came over and investigated. Martha pretty much took to making aggressive displays toward Shy and her dad and Tiny mostly tagged along for support, but didn't get too involved. I think most of Martha's aggressive behavior was toward the female, possibly thinking her a rival for her mate.

Martha, I think

On the other side of the parking lot, I first spotted Killer by himself. But, later, it would seem that Martha and Firecracker were there, too, Martha having flown over as I walked back. Martha almost immediately took her daughter away from there before Tiny and the M6 dad flew over with Shy.

Firecracker with the ducks

Killer was very calm and casual, taking a bath and grooming himself. Shy came over to him and one of them began to make aggressive displays, I think it was Killer. Shy did not respond with the same motions, but one time she looked like she was going to give Killer a nip when he turned around while doing a dip-down display, but thought twice about it. She seemed interested and curious about Killer and even made a couple of clucks and displays at him, too, but not very aggressive nor did it seem as though she was flirting with him.

Shy

Killer, before his bath

A little way's away, Shy's dad was making his way towards the couple. But, Tiny was making it very clear to him that he did not belong there by making territorial "kill-dee" calls at him. I left after that as these things can take hours, or days to resolve. It looks like these two families may be starting to come together. However, they're still young, so it might be several months before anything happens.

I think this is Tiny

M6 (Beautiful) Dad "I'm just looking out for my baby girl!"

Across the lake, I could hear several killdeer doing alarm calls through the fog, but I did not go over there to see what was going on with the rest of the lake killdeer.

Chicks' debut or new fall arrivals?

Aren't I cute? Little female's breastband looks like Martha's

Today started out like any other day at the lake, except that I almost stepped right on George and Martha as I entered into the park. I didn't see them until I was only a few feet away and they took off without making a sound. They were both very calm. A little spotted sandpiper made his appearance, too, following me around as I looked at the ducks and fed them some peas.

Martha and a sandpiper early in the morning

It was strange, no crows, blackbirds and grackles were seen or heard in George and Martha's little part of the world.

At the ballfield, I initially found 7 killdeer and then went to go look at the ducks in Del Cerro Bay. I saw two juvenile Cooper's hawks there. The little duckling was there and swimming right towards the hawks, but I think he ended up hiding in or near some reeds, so I think he was safe for the day. The grackles were spending the day on Del Cerro Point as well as near Cowles point, too. Very few grackles seen today. I the hawks are putting some pressure on them to leave the area.

Back at the ballpark, the second time I came around, I found ten killdeer there. One killdeer was calling on Cowles Point, but then flew over into the ballfield. When I looked, there seemed to be one or two possible small adults, maybe recently fledged chicks. I couldn't be sure as it's also getting close to having fall arrivals migrating into the area. It's still early, but they could start arriving at any time.

One of the small ones was a slim male, very dark in color.


The other small one might be a female.



When I went back to George and Martha's "home", I heard the sounds of territorial killdeer calls. George and Martha were on one side of the bay and two other killdeers were on the other. A third killdeer, a male, may have also been near the other two. George flew off when I got too close and made loud territorial calls all over his territory, even on the north side. Martha flew off and landed close to the invading couple and got into an argument with the invading male.

I went around to the other side and George had returned. I could see George and Martha totally puffed up and angry, mostly directing their anger mostly towards a male with a white feather on his back. I originally thought it was M4 (Grandpa killdeer), but his breast band was different than this one. There also was a small, cute, adorable little female killdeer who didn't seem to be interested in fighting at all. I thought I saw Martha make an aggressive move towards her, but if she did, she wasn't serious. Most of the attention was on Whitefeather, the large adult male. And, Whitefeather's attention was divided between Martha and George and the little pale-colored female.

George "dips" while Whitefeather goes around to confront him. The little female is on the right.

George (on rock) Martha (Left front) and Whitefeather (Left behind). All puffed up.

The little female seemed more interested in what I was doing and started to watch me take pictures of her. She didn't seem afraid of me at all, but cautious. Eventually, she pretty much walked right up to me, almost unafraid. I was hoping that this was Firecracker, the little female chick whom I thought was dead almost five weeks ago. She would be about 38 or 39 days old now, the right time for a killdeer chick to make her appearance into the open world and into killdeer society.

The little female on the left starts to come up to me while Whitefeather watches her and George and Martha watch him

Female chicks almost immediately get courted by adult males when they come out into the open. It's possible that mom and dad were defending her as she is not full grown for another two weeks. It also explained the arrival of another full-grown male on the scene, interested in all the hub-bub. I don't think that other male is Tiny or Killer, Firecracker's brothers, but I will have to get a better look to see next time.

However, this female is very pale and that often indicates that she may be an older female and not a chick. I've noticed that younger killdeer seem to be darker brown than the older ones and they get paler as they get older. But, I haven't confirmed that theory, yet. I have noticed that George, who used to be golden brown has started to get paler over the last year, especially at the base of some of his feathers. But, her color is mostly evenly spread throughout her body and that might indicate youth.

The little female passes within a couple feet of me. She has algae in her mouth

The male who was interested in this female began to become concerned for her as she walked away and started following with Martha following behind. George continued to stand on a rock and proclaim his territory until another human being walked by and scared them away.

George demands that everyone come back and fight with him

If this little female is Firecracker, her brothers may make their appearance next.

"Sounds" like the M6 chicks are doing OK and "chick sounds" in George's territory?

Today, the road was closed where the M6 dad and his chicks were because they were cutting down trees in that area. I went over to Del Cerro Bay and stood where the dad, M6, would see me across on the other side of the water. Immediately, he began making "chick round-up" calls (short, sharp calls for communicating with family members). I thought I heard the response from one of his chicks from that far away, too. They were in the same place where I saw them on Sunday, out of the way of the workers so far.

In the baseball fields, three couples of killdeer along with a lot of other birds were feeding. A Cooper's hawk tried to catch one of them, but they all flew off. I don't know if the hawk was aiming for the killdeer (who first sounded the alarm) or for the fifty or sixty other birds using that field. She missed, by the way, and ended up with nothing and in a tree, possibly with a male. I don't know if the killdeer came back later or if anything happened to them after that. Knowing how cautious killdeer are, they probably didn't return to the area until they were sure she was gone. But, two of them are very possessive over that field and may have returned early.

When I first came across George in the morning, he began making alarm calls. He continued as long as he could see me. When I disappeared for a second, he stopped, but when he saw me again, he continued. When I arrived at Padre Bay, where he had the chicks, he began calling again. I looked over to his side of the lake and saw two other killdeer attacking each other, but George was not involved and continued doing alarm calls. I found out later that it was Martha and Mary who were fighting. I found them later on the other side of the parking lot near the entrance to the lake. George began calling and I thought I heard a chick responding from some brush, but my directional hearing is not that good and it could have been either Martha or Mary responding from close by. I saw no visual sign of a chick in that area and all three killdeer became extremely quiet. I didn't want to disturb them as they often got quiet when a hawk was around and maybe there was a hawk in their area, too.

Martha on the left, Mary on the right

Martha and Mary seem to be tolerating each other whenever I observe them, but Martha seemed really tense. The attack I saw earlier was near where I last saw the chicks. There has to be chicks over there as I don't think Martha or George would be so adamant to protect their turf after possibly loosing them over a week ago. George still calls if he sees me across any bay or water, but doesn't react as if a chick is nearby like the M6 male does. George didn't start doing this until last Saturday when the chicks disappeared. I don't think killdeers "hold on" to the hope that a missing chick will show up again. So, I think there has to be some chicks somewhere, possibly hiding. Hopefully, they are alright without their mom and dad shadowing them.

The lake water level is rising back to normal levels. This means that it will be very hard for me to observe any new chicks on Padre Point as many of the areas where I observed them before are not easily accessible because the water comes right up to the bushes. But, this is a good thing for the killdeer as it means safer access to food for the chicks as they will have cover close by.

I caught "Little Male" in the act!

The day started out normally. M2 was not in his territory, hopefully helping F3 with the nest over near the northern area of Mission Trails Park where "Little Male" was possibly born. M4 was doing well and got most of his voice back. But, things got strange after that.

I found a new "couple" of killdeer on one of the baseball fields and, boy, were they acting strange towards some squirrels. I will talk more about that in another post.

When I was going back to my car, I hear a killdeer doing his annoying yell and assumed it was Little Male complaining that I was walking by. But, then, I heard the strange call that I hear when males were fighting each other. I looked over and I saw one killdeer on the back of another, but couldn't get the photo as the one on the bottom was very nervous and walked to where he/she wouldn't be seen. The one on top did a bob-dip courtship dance, but I don't think it was answered.

At first, I thought I was seeing M2 fighting with Little Male and this was a way to enforce dominance on the other one. The one on top was way too calm to be little male and the other was way too nervous to be a female. But, after consulting my photos, I have found that they were actually Little Male and a very pretty female with a smooth breast band.

Little Male is in front, the female in the background

The female tried to keep me from getting a good look at her, but didn't totally hide. Little Male began kneeling down and flashing his red-tail at me in a more "friendly" distraction manner. I don't think he was trying to pick a fight, but trying to get me to leave her alone and pay attention to him.

"Look at me! Not at her!"

I sat down and watched and Little Male pretty much walked right up to me, gave me a dirty look, and flew way over to his nesting area, actually overshooting it. I think he wanted me to follow and not his mate as he was way out of the area that he normally goes to. The female didn't follow, but neither did I. I was able to get a few good photos of her, alone, before I left.

"Thanks for spoiling the fun!"

I don't think I've ever seen this pretty lady before.

While I was in M2's territory, I heard a killdeer call and though it was M2 hiding, but I think it was actually Little Male looking for his mate.

Hopefully, the female can hold off laying eggs for another five days until after the fourth of July. There's a high likelihood that any nest will be crushed by people wanting to see the fireworks if it's laid before then. I think F3 didn't lay her eggs for at least a week, so it will be OK if this female decides to lay her eggs in his territory.

Little Male very nervous and more on the ducklings

M2 was spending time in Little Male's territory. He looks a lot like Little Male and I wonder if they're related, perhaps M2 is an older brother or even his father. But, one way that I can tell the difference is that M2 has gotten so extremely calm and doesn't yell hardly at all. He has seemed to learn that if he's quiet and still, no one will bother him.

M2 spending time in Little Male's feeding area. I don't know what that object is on the right. I thought it was a corn cob, but it may be the top of a plant. The lake is low now and all kinds of things float up.

Little Male was being totally uncooperative with getting his picture taken. He started screaming way before I could see him and wouldn't let me get anywhere near. He was extremely nervous, probably because of another killdeer being nearby. I think he had a bad fight experience and ever since then, he has been terrible with his nervousness and screaming. I would think he would be used to people right now as he spends a lot of time in a very busy area. He screamed so much that M2 came over an answered his call. M2 didn't do a fight call, but another chirp-beep in answer to Little Male's call. He landed nearby and Little Male flew near him. I wondered if a fight was going to take place, but a nearby crow decided he had enough of the screaming and chased M1 away to the other side of the bay. Over there, people were walking around and he began screaming at them, too.

Little Male wants me to stay far, far away. He won't let me take his picture from the front.

M2, who was being quiet, was completely ignored by the crow.

M8 could be heard and not seen, I didn't feel like chasing him. Another killdeer was hanging out on one of the baseball fields, which was being mowed. Whatever killdeer that was over there was pretty upset about that lawnmower. M4's voice is very raspy, but he has actually gotten calmer. He lets me approach him pretty close now. No sign of any females, but females can be very quiet and you can pass by them without knowing they're there sometimes. You have to watch the males to see if they act more nervous than normal.

The ducklings that almost became hawk food have made it to four days old. They've doubled in size, but are very tiny, still. A fish nibbled on them and they ran straight to mama. But, still, they go off on their own and disobey mom, so they have a high chance of being eaten by a fish. Luckily, they get fed by people near the shore where they're at, so they don't have to cross the water to get food.

The "Hawk Food" ducklings, four day old

The other three older ducklings that were almost fish food were not seen, but are probably OK. They are three weeks old now and usually when they get to that age, they're chances of making it to being full grown are pretty good..

Lots of baby coots all over, too. A large bird, either a dark colored eagle or a vulture, was picking off the really young babies in nests on top of the fallen reeds. But, a lot of them have made it to almost full-grown status.

A baby coot, almost fully grown. Are they called chicks or cooties?

Killdeer news, more babies on the lake

When I arrived, I didn't see M2 or his girlfriend, F3 anywhere, which isn't unusual. I was hoping that they were attending a nest.

I visited the M8 territory to see if I could find any chicks that I might have heard running around and making little killdeer chirps. But, I didn't find any. Instead, I found M8 fighting with a strange male and female that I don't think I've ever seen before. Also, it looked like Mrs. Deet was there, too. When the intruding couple flew off, Mrs. Deet stayed with M8.

Mrs. Deet?

M8, he sure is hard to take a photo of.

The intruding male and female

The intruding female seems rather large, perhaps she's trying to find a safe spot to lay eggs.

I wonder if all this fighting over territory is one last chance of having a brood before the end of breeding season before the ones from the north return to the area.

On the way to M4's territory, I hear a coot screaming in alarm and saw a big, black bird leaving. I think it had a nestling coot, but I couldn't be sure. The bird was huge, possibly a turkey vulture. It's rare for vultures to eat live food, but I found out that they do take nestlings and weak birds once in a while. Mostly, they just don't like to chase down their food, so they take anything that can't run away fast or fight back.

Near some fisherman, I found the 16-17 day old ducklings and their mom. The fisherman said that they were next to be eaten, but they've already beaten a lot of odds and I am pulling for them. They also said that the black bird got a duckling, but the only thing that was around here were grebes, coots, and the three ducklings that seemed fine. I think the mother duck was a little worried and moved them away. I just hope the fisherman cleaned up their fishing line as it was all over the place and the ducks were really close to them.



I found a new family of ducklings, just two. The two little ones were not being obedient to mom and kept getting separated. Mom wasn't attentive enough for them.



M4 had a visitor in his territory that looked suspiciously like M2, who was chased off and headed back toward his own area. M4's voice is still raspy, but doing OK. Around his territory, the grass has been cut short in preparation for the fireworks.

As I was leaving the M4 territory, I heard a red-tail hawk call and fly over. A minute later, a mother duck (sounded like it was coming in the direction of the female with the day old ducklings) screaming her head off and I was sure that one of her ducklings was now a meal.


But, when I walked on, I saw the hawk being chased off by three or four swallows and it's talons looked empty.

But, at first, all I saw was one duckling.



Then, the second one popped up. All was well for the time being.



I didn't see the older ducklings and hope that one of them didn't get caught by the hawk. I didn't have my binoculars, but I thought I saw the mom and at least two of them hiding under some reeds far away.

Sign of the end of killdeer breeding season?

Female killdeer stretching her wings

When I last visited the lake, I originally found what I thought was three or four killdeer in one area of M2's territory. I wasn't expecting (or hoping) to find any killdeer at all because M2 should have been attending to a nest in his nesting area. But, something must have happened to that nest. Three of the killdeer looked like M2, M3 and possibly M5, whom I've also seen fighting over females elsewhere. I spotted an unknown female with those three, but it could be F2, Little Male's "stolen" mate.

3 male killdeer and one female on the left

When I walked ahead, I found another female, F1 (M3's mate) getting harassed and pecked by the grackles trying to eat the duck food someone had left.

F1 (M3's mate)?

The males were making various gestures towards each other such as dipping and tail flashing. I've noticed that if a male turned his back and dipped, he was basically left alone. However, if he turned toward another male and dipped, he risked being attacked, especially if he flashed his orange tail feathers at the other male. There was also a lot of calling, trilling, and angry trill-calls, probably from M2. It almost sounded like roosters arguing.

The females just walked around, preening and feeding, ducking the grackles who flew right over their heads, almost hitting them.

On the other side of the peninsula and the lake parking lot, F3 and Little Male were all alone. F3 showed almost no fear of me and pretty much let me walk up to her without getting upset.

F3 being dominant and unfraid

However, Little Male was acting like a big baby, acting very submissive and hiding. Even when I had walked very far away, he still flatted himself and trilled. F3 came up to him, seeming to comfort him, but it still took him a while to stop. I've seen males act this way around females while in their feeding areas, but he was really going all out. But, that's his personality, he always over-acts. This may be due to his young age.

M1 (Little Male) being submissive and calling

M4 was all alone, but again losing his voice. I spotted M7 guarding his area, too.

When I came back, I wanted to make sure none of the killdeer had gotten hurt or killed by any grackles because a couple of them were getting pecked at earlier. All the grackles were over in Little Male's territory and he was all alone, trilling as I walked by. But, they didn't seem to be bothering him.

In M2's territory, all was very, very quiet. It was kinda nice, not a grackle in sight. I thought it was because there were fewer people or because the food was gone. Not even the phoebes were flying around. The killdeer were there, this time there were six of them because F3 had joined them, but they were totally quiet. A couple of the females foraged, but most of them were very quiet and very still. This wasn't unusual as it's often their way of hiding from predators. They totally blend into the environment this way.

As I was beginning to leave the area, I saw a cooper's hawk fly to the trees. A killdeer screamed at almost the same time it flew over, but I thought it was because someone's child scared it away. This could have been a fatal mistake if it was ten seconds earlier as cooper's hawks often hunt by causing panic to a flock of birds to get them to fly off into the air where they can get snagged. But, this hawk wasn't hunting the killdeer, it flew over closer to where the grackles were hanging around. I don't think it had a target that time, just checking out the area for possible prey and hunting strategy. So, the male that flew off (I think it was M3 going back to his territory), was safe that time. All the other killdeer continued to stay very quiet and still. Let's hope that none of my killdeer friends make this mistake again.

I had a feeling that the abundance of grackles in the area might attract bird hawks. But, one thing about hawks, you know they're hunters and the killdeer and phoebes know they're hunters, so they're not going to let their guards down when they know they're around.

I'm wondering if this sudden gathering of all the neighboring killdeer signals the end of the breeding season. The males were still displaying to each other, though, so this may be a way to "regroup" and select new mates and territories. Little Male didn't seem to want any part of being in this group. I think it may have to do with him picking fights with two of the males and getting that bruise on his chest. Like I've said before, he's very young and perhaps three older males together seem too intimidating to him.

Killdeer Update, M2 and F3 "missing"

M1, Little Male, in an area where seed is given to the doves. M1's sore on the front of his chest has healed.

I couldn't find any sign of M2 or his mate today. At one time, I thought I heard an alarm and territorial call from him when M1 was forced to cross the lake by someone walking their dog. But, I think it might have been my ears playing trick with me. I didn't see him when I got to the lake and I didn't see him when I came back. I haven't heard or seen of any headless bird bodies, so it's unlikely that the grackles got him. The grackles have actually been behaving reasonably well towards the other birds (and people) so far. So, it's very likely that M2 is in his nesting area with his mate and eggs.

I've noticed that killdeers have two parts to their territories: a feeding area (where they are most of the time) and a nesting area that is usually within sight of their feeding territory. This may be an adaptation to living with "smart" predators like crows, grackles, and ravens who watch the habits of the birds whose babies or eggs they eat. The males spend most of their time in their feeding area, only visiting their nesting area once in a while to "show" the nesting site to a prospective mate and to check on it's current safety level. After the chicks hatch, they may or may not bring them to the feeding area depending on how safe the parents feel that area is. That is probably why killdeer families "disappear" after the first day or two after they hatch. The family is brought to a "feeding area".

I still have not found where M2's nesting area is. It's undoubtedly within sight of his territory, but that could me a mile away on the other side of the lake. I am hoping that by the time the chicks are a day old, most of the grackles will be done nesting and be out of the area or in fewer numbers. But, it appears that some of the grackles are building new nests, including a pair in M4's area. However, I think that pair may disperse when the ravens decide to return to the area. Grackles do hang out with other blackbirds, but I don't think they like ravens and crows, especially when they're outnumbered. If I start seeing F3, M2's mate, more frequently in the future, I am going to assume that their nest was a failure.

Speaking of M4, I don't exactly know where his nesting area is, but I have a suspicion that it's in the area with the grackles. If the grackle number stays low (1-4 individuals), the killdeer may be OK and not be bothered. But, I think it's more likely that the nesting area is in M7's area as M4 is constantly "watching" that area and fighting off other males who try to take residence there.

Today, M4's voice was nearly gone. He could hardly call above a whisper. He seemed very nervous while I was there and was having such a hard time with his voice that I thought I should leave so that he could get his voice back. No sign of "Bo" anywhere.

I thought I heard a killdeer in the M8 area today doing an alarm call. It's hard to tell because there's so many finches and phoebes making a lot of noise that it was hard to tell. I didn't go and check it out. Chances are that it's the "Deets", but it could be M2 as the "Deets" showed up in this area last time M2 was missing (though the "Deets" looked and acted like totally different killdeer, maybe they could actually be M2 and F3 all puffed up or something). Killdeer behavior does change when they are in their breeding areas, mostly with more nervousness and defensiveness.

Get out of my territory!

F3 being very friendly

Killdeer are about the same size as the mourning doves

M2 is making sure everything is safe

Today, I found M2 and his mate foraging in the southern part of M1's territory. He's been having a dispute with M1 over who should own this area. Today, they were eating birdseed with the doves and also feasting on the ants in the area. While observing those two, I noticed that "Little Male", M1 was sneaking up behind us.

I see you guys over there and I'm not going to tolerate this much more! (note the dark spot on his chest, it could be from fighting)

You better leave or I'm coming over there as soon as the humans are gone!

I left the area a few minutes later and within 10 minutes, I could hear the sound of two males arguing with their "kill-dee" sounds. But, M2 didn't leave just then. However, eventually, M1 won the fight and M2 was forced back into his territory without his mate. I guess she just wasn't finished feeding yet. I don't know if M1 and the female (F3) mated, but M2 was all alone in his territory for a long time, calling for her.

I miss my girlfriend

I've never seen or heard of an example of a "companion call" on any of the other websites. It's a lot like the alarm call, but shorter and softer. It's kinda like the difference between "beep" and "cheep" with the companion call being the "cheep" and a bit shorter. Poor guy, he seemed to be asking for my help in getting her back, walking up towards me, showing now fear. But, this is something he has got to deal with himself.

M4, "Mister Cool"

Yes, I'm cool. Look at me.

Here are some photos of M4 who is relatively calm around people compared to other killdeer on the lake. He will deet at you if he thinks that you don't see him, but I don't think I've ever heard him trill or scream. Unfortunately for him, his territory is really close to where they put the fireworks show for 4th of July. Maybe that's why he's so calm, he's been through a lot already. But, let's see how cool he can be if he gets a female.

You looking at me?

I know you're looking at me!
(Sorry it's fuzzy)

***Update: This could actually be a female that is a regular resident/visitor to this area, but I can't be sure. Usually, the resident male would always be watching out for her, but in all the cases, up to this time, there were no other killdeer in the area.