All ducks, no killdeer (and one sandpiper)

No killdeer were spotted at all today at Lake Murray, but at least two or three were heard beyond the fence when a night heron flew past them. I think I also heard some at another location when someone walked their dog too close to the shoreline. The water levels were higher today.

However, I did see my spotted sandpiper friend, though only for a few minutes:



Ducky gets interested in girls:

I think this is Ducky who is starting to fight with his friend over females, specifically his friend's sister. Ducky's friend really gave it to him hard, but both are juvenile and learning how the process goes, so no one was hurt. Other young females were also interesting to him, too. He checked out everyone.

Ooo, la la! Hello Ladies!

Gotta look good for the girls! Here's Ducky preening his new flight feathers:



Other duck news:

This is Curly with a deformed bill. Curly does everything a normal duck does, even preen and fight. He has a disadvantage when it comes to feeding on his natural food, but he does OK. Bill said there were two Curlies at the lake, but I've only ever seen one. It's possible the other one may have died from old age or moved on somewhere else.



I also saw a northern Pintail, very pretty:



And, here's the white mallard! If you can catch him and keep him confined, you can take him home. He's still pretty tame, but starting to get dirty.