We say good-bye to more ducks at Lake Murray. The scaup in the photo above was found dead this morning. It looks like he might have actually starved to death. It's possible he didn't fatten up enough before migrating and then might have flown too hard and too far to the point where he couldn't fly anymore. By then, it might have been too late and he couldn't gain the weight back. Or, he might have been sick. No sign of injuries or anything else that would have caused him to not be able to walk or gain weight.
Also, it looks like Buffy2 is gone. He's the last of Oreo the Indian Runner's little flock of ducks and has been there three years. I found feathers everywhere, but most of them were light. He was beginning to go through his molt and was very light in color. I found no sign of him and he and Donald the Pekin were very close. Donald would never have left his side.
Bigboi and the crested duck were hanging out. Usually, Buffy2 would sit between the two of them.
Donald was extremely upset about his missing friend and didn't want to associate with any other duck. He looked very mopey.
In other sad news, the mother with the nine ducklings had no ducklings at all this morning. I was hoping that she had stashed them somewhere, but she was hanging out with her mate for over an hour and didn't seem anxious to find them. So, I think they're all deceased.
And, this duck is now missing. He was dropped off with one other duck last weekend and that duck disappeared before I could get a photo of him. Now, he's missing. He was eating and drinking normally and I'm hoping he just went somewhere else on the lake, though I haven't seen anything. I'm hoping he and his friend are together now and safe. I saw no sign of predator activity with either of them.
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