Bossy Spoonface

Bossy (Spoonface) was so cute today.  He was waiting for food with all the other ducks on the other side of the lake.  But, I don't think the guy came to feed them.  (He's not a bossy duck, but his sister was and his whole family were called the bossy ducklings).

Curly was hanging out with Donald and the runner ducks:

I also saw the gadwalls again:

And, I saw a downy woodpecker pecking on a tree.

And, the osprey trying to get his breakfast:

Finally, a killdeer, I think it's George III.  Probably hanging out here hoping a girl will come by.

I think I also saw Squiggy, still without a mate.

And, finally, I did a photo essay on Gather about these finches using a drinking fountain as a birdbath.  You can see the whole essay here.  

Gadwall and grebe day

The gadwalls seem to have calmed down a little at Lake Murray and are letting me get some photos.  And, there were a mess of eared grebes all around, too.  I think I saw at least 20 gadwalls and about 10 eared grebes today, very unusual.  Lots of lesser scaup, too, but nowhere as much as last year.

The one in front, I think, is a resident gadwall

This guy is very friendly

Other birds:

Lesser scaup

Young juvenile western gull

Older juvenile western gull

White crowned sparrow

And, a fun one of Pepper, stretching.

My first Audubon bird walk

Today, I did my first Audubon bird walk in Tecolote Canyon.  Many of the birds were small and were far away, so I didn't get many good photos.  We saw Cooper's hawks, red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, California thrashers, California towhees, lesser goldfinches, say's phoebes, and many more.  Here are a few photos I took that came out presentable.

First, a pretty flower, I think it's a primrose:

A lesser goldfinch:

And, two photos of California thrashers:

I had one of a Say's Phoebe and Northern Flickr, but they weren't that great.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Duckies!

Peek-a-boo!

Happy Thanksgiving from all the duckies at the lake I saw today!  It sure was a busy place despite being closed.

Bossy Duck

Bossy's older look-a-like

The dumped ducks in a different area of the lake than usual.

Gadwall; they were giving me a hard time and wouldn't let me take their picture.

Louie

Pepper was actually out trying to compete for mates.  He even tried to do honk-snorts, but needs more practice.

This might be either Pepper's brother (the gray duckling) or his cousin:

And, three of the ducks project wildlife dropped off last summer.

Bigboi

And Curly!

Buffleheads, teals and wigeons

First, before we get to the ducks  today at Lake Murray, I found this female killdeer all by herself.  I don't know who she is, but she seems similar to Georgina.  No other killdeer were seen today.

Also, here's a nice looking red-winged blackbird.

OK, now for some ducks.  First, a a female wigeon hanging around with the mallards:

Buffleheads:

Female green-winged teal:

A lady across the lake has named the Swedish that was dropped off at the lake last March, Oreo:

She calls his friend Aflac, but that would make him Aflac 3:

I thought I saw a spoon on this duck's face, so I thought it was Bossy (Spoonface), but from this angle, you can't see a spoon, so I am thinking twice about this being him:

Bigboi was not seen and since he's been ill lately, I am worried about him. I also haven't seen Curly lately, either.  

Showery day

Today is kinda partly cloudy and even showery.  I didn't take many pictures, but here's a few that I took this morning at Lake Murray.

I've been trying to get a photo of the common yellowthroats for a long time, but they hide in the reeds whenever they see me looking at them.  This is probably the best shot I had at one so far:

Close-up of a coot:

A gadwall family!  I accidentally flushed them out.  I wonder if two of them are the two ducklings from earlier this year:

Pretty duck:

Eared grebe.  I saw three together this morning:

Quacker's back!

I didn't do a full walk around at Lake Murray, but I did visit the area where many of the ducks hang out.  I saw most of the familiar ducks there including Quacker and even Bossy duck was there!  But, still no sign of the missing Pekin.  I think it was Aflac1 who is gone. It doesn't look good, there were vultures nearby, hanging around on the other side of the bay with a few seagulls.  But, I didn't see any white feathers over there.

The last Pekin on this part of the lake

Bossy Duck (Spoonface) in a strange area of the lake

Here's a picture of Bigboi.  I don't think he's doing well and I don't know how much longer he has to live.  He acts like Tom did when he started to get old.  Cinnamon's half sister was also seen.

Bigboi

Cinnamon's half sister

This next duck might be Poquito, but he looks so much like Ducky!  Perhaps he's one of Ducky's ducklings:

Young duck

Quacker and her mate

Other birds seen:

Coots!

Northern shoveler

Baby ring-billed gull

Eared Grebe