Lots of killdeer and a pelican

Killdeer at sunrise

Lots of killdeer around today, hanging around in Cooper's hawk territory.  I think I counted nine or ten of them including Squeak:

Squeak

And Miracle (I think that's Killer Jr. in the background):

Three other killdeer.  I think one might be Killer and the others might be the offspring of the "Beautiful Dad":

This one looks like George III:

Fred, the greater yellowlegs, has finally found the killdeers and is happy now:

Unfortunately, the feeling doesn't seem to be mutual on the killdeer's end:

A white pelican visited Lake Murray today, but he didn't seem to be very hungry and looked to be not feeling too good.  I think he might just be tired and needed to rest:

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the faded mallard drake might be one of Indy's brothers:

These might be Indy's other siblings, but no sign of Indy anywhere:

This is the first northern shoveler I've seen at the lake so far this year.  The scaups are starting to come in, too.  But, the only gadwall's I've seen, so far,  are the ones that are at the lake all year-round.

Some old favorites return

Some old favorites are being seen at the lake right now.  First, here is George III, whom I last saw following Junior and his mate around a few months back;

I think this might be Squeak, who has been missing for a very long time.  I can see her little "bow tie" on her forehead.

I am fairly sure the one on the right is Dee, Killer's mate.  I think Killer was there, too.  The one on the left looks to be a young male killdeer, perhaps George IV, her son, or another son.

Don't know who this next one is, but it might be Pollux's son:

Hurt wing is alive and well, she's about 16 months old now and has had a broken wing for about 13 or 14 months:

Louie and Picked On"

Jill and her Canada gander mate:

Pat, the bi-gender duck:

And, three young ducks.

I don't think I've seen George and Martha lately, but I'm not sure.  And, Fred the greater yellowlegs is back and was calling for all his friends.

Miracle and Killer Jr.'s chicks

When I visited one of the ballfields today, I saw a killdeer doing a broken wing act.  I thought it would be strange for Pollux to be doing a broken wing act when his chicks were full grown.  But, it wasn't Pollux, I think it was Miracle!

I didn't see any chicks when I first passed through, probably because the sprinklers were going.  But, I could hear her "talking" to them.  Later, when I came back, I found two little chicks and dad was "patrolling" an area near some brush, so I think there was at least one or two more in there.  They were so tiny!  In the distance, they look like little balls of fluff:

Here is mom with the two chicks.  The gate was locked, so I couldn't get into the field.  Even if I could, I wouldn't be able to get a great shot because all the birds would have scattered and hid.

I think I saw a boy and a girl chick, but I'm not sure as I couldn't get too close:

In other news, that cute young duck was seen being cute and friendly:

Bossy Mama is down to her last duckling, now about 8 days old:

I still only see one coot chick from the three that I saw earlier.  There was a big turtle nearby, too:

These two coot chicks from the other side of the lake are growing very fast.

I also got a photo of a Clark's grebe.  There were several Clark's grebe and some western grebes there today.

The two brown pelicans are still there.  Fish Food Mama still has her five ducklings.  No sign of the eight ducklings I saw a few days ago.  Hurt wing is still limping very badly, but alive and hungry!  The two sister ducks are also doing well.  I think Neo is doing fine, too, but he is blending in with the other drakes going through eclipse, so I can't pick him out.

Cloudy morning

Around May and June in San Diego, the desert heats up and draws in clouds from over the ocean.  As the inland areas get warmer, the clouds get stronger, especially if there is any kind of front nearby.  On some days, the coast doesn't clear up at all.  Inland, like at Lake Murray, the clouds may dissipate around mid to late morning.  So, many of the photos I take were taken when it was pretty dark out, like this morning.

Here is a photo of what I think might be Miracle. I didn't see Killer Jr., but if there's a nest nearby, he may be on it.  I think I saw her during a shift change.  Males tend to sit on nests at night, females during the day.

Pepper has turned really dark and his wing seems better.  But, he is afraid of me for some reason and never lets me get too close to take a picture of him.

It took me a long time, but I finally found Neo.  I didn't get a photo of him stretching out his wing with all his new pins on them.  He looks great.

Here he is with his mom and probable dad.  Unfortunately, the male won't let Neo get anywhere close to his mom, whom he is imprinted on.

Fish Food Mama was seen with her five ducklings.  Another female seemed really interested in them as well, I think it was Peaches, the older sister of all these little guys.  I haven't seen Peaches with any eggs or ducklings this year.  

There now appears to be three males and two females in this group of ducklings.

This is Fish Food Mama's mate.  I've never seen him get mean to any of the ducklings and they seem to accept him as a family member.

This little male's bill coloring is changing in a weird, patchy way.

Independent duckling:

Mama and one of her ducklings:

A word about Hurt Wing:

I saw Hurt Wing a few days ago after being absent a long time.  Her wing looked a lot better and, except for   her pinion joint seeming to still have some damage, you wouldn't know he had a hurt or damaged wing.  However, since she can't fly away as well from the boys, her hip and leg was hurt, probably during rough mating.  So, now she can't really walk.  In the water, she often holds her leg up, but you wouldn't know she was hurt if you see her swimming.  I don't like to interfere with the wild ducks unless something happened to them that was human-caused or influenced.  Or, they are severely and grossly injured.  I'm still hoping it will get better with her and the males will leave her alone..  

Fish Food Mama's Ducklings

Fish Food Mama, the mom of the three ducks Peaches, Caramel, and Butterscotch, is still doing well with her five little ducklings now about 9 days old.  I am so surprised that they have survived so long is such a dangerous location with herons, ravens, crows, gulls, and human children who like to chase and throw rocks and them.

Neo Update:


No sign of Neo's mom at all, but Neo seems to be healthy and not in distress.  He is now 25 days old and totally alone.  He comes out of his hiding place for about 10 to 15 minutes and then disappears.

Saw 4 baby green herons in the reeds, 3 of them pictured here:

Later, I came back and only saw one of them:

Squeak and Pollux are still taking care of their chicks, which are hiding:

Squeak

Pollux

I saw this California king snake.  Junior's mate was really upset about it as it is a threat to her chicks or eggs.  I didn't see it trying to get any chicks or eggs, it seemed to want to cross the road.

I also saw what I think might be Bob's mate and Bob herself nearby.