Before I start with the possible return of three of Snowie's March ducklings, I'm sorry to say that one of the Pekins went missing at Lake Murray during the last month. I'm not 100% sure which one it was, but it could be Mr. Squeaky or one of the older ones. There's no sign of him anywhere.
Now to the strange news. These two buff-hybrids showed up about a month ago, and they were the right age to be Snowie's ducklings from way back in March. They appeared to be rouen and buff and I thought maybe Pumpkin or Sissy laid eggs in Snowie's nest. However, I am starting to notice some appleyard traits in them.
What's really odd is that these two ducks, whom are obviously domestic ducks, behave just like the wild ducks. This is unusual for dumped ducks and even ducks raised by wildlife rescues. It's possible that someone raised and returned them, but it's also possible that they were stolen by another female duck and raised in another location at the lake. I'm betting someone took them as they disappeared right before Easter and during a time there were a lot of people at the lake due to a major news story in the area. Either that or they're just regular dumped ducks.
Another duck that may have returned is "Uno" the last of Snowie's ducklings. He looks like a twin of Snowie's mate and was actually at the lake for a couple of weeks before I noticed that he was something new. What's even weirder is that he remembers his name and will sometimes come when I call him. He seems to have some recognition of Snowie and her mate Snowy, too, though they definitely show no signs of recognizing him. His head and bill shape is also the same as Uno, also. So, regardless of where he came from, he is going to be known as Uno from now on.
The two new geese are less afraid and will come up to me now. They are very well mannered. They seem to think they belong to the flock of "Sissy, Pumpkin and Runner Duck" and are always nearby. I think Pumpkin likes them and calls for them when they're not around. I'm not so sure that Sissy and the boys like them. I've caught them nipping at Runner Duck, but not really hard.
There is a resident female killdeer in George's territory. I think it's Little Miracle. There is a male killdeer in Junior's territory and when these two get together, there's a lot of vocalizations. Little Miracle will greet me, but, of course, doesn't let me get too close.
Some other fun pictures include this green heron that I saw this morning:
And I did a shorebird count at the San Diego river mouth later in the day, but this picture of a long-billed curlew was the best that I got.
Other than Miss Friendly, it looks like the other three ducklings have appeared again. I don't have any good pictures. There were two boys and two girls overall. The two boys are really scruffy and one of them is extremely friendly. I call that extremely friendly one "Goofball". His brother is not as friendly.
