M2 was spending time in Little Male's territory. He looks a lot like Little Male and I wonder if they're related, perhaps M2 is an older brother or even his father. But, one way that I can tell the difference is that M2 has gotten so extremely calm and doesn't yell hardly at all. He has seemed to learn that if he's quiet and still, no one will bother him.
M2 spending time in Little Male's feeding area. I don't know what that object is on the right. I thought it was a corn cob, but it may be the top of a plant. The lake is low now and all kinds of things float up.
Little Male was being totally uncooperative with getting his picture taken. He started screaming way before I could see him and wouldn't let me get anywhere near. He was extremely nervous, probably because of another killdeer being nearby. I think he had a bad fight experience and ever since then, he has been terrible with his nervousness and screaming. I would think he would be used to people right now as he spends a lot of time in a very busy area. He screamed so much that M2 came over an answered his call. M2 didn't do a fight call, but another chirp-beep in answer to Little Male's call. He landed nearby and Little Male flew near him. I wondered if a fight was going to take place, but a nearby crow decided he had enough of the screaming and chased M1 away to the other side of the bay. Over there, people were walking around and he began screaming at them, too.
Little Male wants me to stay far, far away. He won't let me take his picture from the front.
M2, who was being quiet, was completely ignored by the crow.
M8 could be heard and not seen, I didn't feel like chasing him. Another killdeer was hanging out on one of the baseball fields, which was being mowed. Whatever killdeer that was over there was pretty upset about that lawnmower. M4's voice is very raspy, but he has actually gotten calmer. He lets me approach him pretty close now. No sign of any females, but females can be very quiet and you can pass by them without knowing they're there sometimes. You have to watch the males to see if they act more nervous than normal.
The ducklings that almost became hawk food have made it to four days old. They've doubled in size, but are very tiny, still. A fish nibbled on them and they ran straight to mama. But, still, they go off on their own and disobey mom, so they have a high chance of being eaten by a fish. Luckily, they get fed by people near the shore where they're at, so they don't have to cross the water to get food.
The "Hawk Food" ducklings, four day old
The other three older ducklings that were almost fish food were not seen, but are probably OK. They are three weeks old now and usually when they get to that age, they're chances of making it to being full grown are pretty good..
Lots of baby coots all over, too. A large bird, either a dark colored eagle or a vulture, was picking off the really young babies in nests on top of the fallen reeds. But, a lot of them have made it to almost full-grown status.
A baby coot, almost fully grown. Are they called chicks or cooties?
