Killdeers get nervous

Digger, running

Love is still in the air and the killdeer are beginning to get back to their noisy selves. They call and trill more than they did over the non-breeding season. Killer, especially, seems particularly upset about me and does a mobbing call sometimes when he sees me.

Killer is beginning to look more and more like his dad that I thought he was George for a minute. But, his body shape is more like his mother's:

Killer

Digger looks a lot like her dad in her markings and her head shape, though less rounded than her dad's:

Digger

This gadwall was hormonal, chasing all the other male mallards around and trying to flirt with the females, even females that are already in established pairs:

Here's a lovely duck couple, a "chocolate" duck and one of Big Daddy's daughters:

They were rooting around in the mud with a few coots:

I saw a couple of coots lovingly grooming each other. It was so cute. Each was taking turns grooming the head of the other one: