Tiny is the boss (or bully) of the ballfield

Ballfield killdeer:

Tiny waking up in the ballfields

Tiny made it through the night and was in the same spot where I left him this morning in the ballfield at Lake Murray. Several other killdeer were with him in that field, four friends in one field, two in the next and two parents in another field keeping an eye out for hawks. Several of the killdeer with Tiny seemed to be juveniles and at least one was a female and three were males, I'm not sure what the fifth one was.

Tiny made a move on the female who rejected him. But, Tiny didn't give up, began to chase her and was confronted by another male who backed off when Tiny challenged him. Other males came up, but Tiny bossed them all around. Then, everyone went back to eating.

Leave that female alone! says this male

Three males, Tiny in the middle, a female on the right

In the field next to them, the Tiny look-a-like was alone with the little baby (the youngest fledgling). I don't think they're related, but I think the bigger killdeer has taken a parental role in protecting the little one.

George and Martha's family:

No killdeers were seen in George's area. I am wondering what's going on with Killer and Firecracker. The water level seems to be going down, so maybe we'll see them again, soon. As I've said before, I have a strong suspicion that George and Martha have new little babies. I think Killer and Firecracker may be nearby, but probably not too close due to the new babies.

Not much else went on at the lake today. The ducks are fine, but when I did my count this morning, there seemed to be only half the mallards there usually were. It might be due to the weather. A lot of the white jumbo Pekin ducks were also missing, hopefully rescued and living a good life (not taken for meat).

A lot of the grackles are also gone, it seems.

Last night, I saw a "flock" of California quail.

Hawks and Tiny's "Talent"

"Killer" watches out for hawks

Today, when I arrived at the lake, I think I saw Tiny and his mom, Martha, together, sleeping. They woke up and flew to another part of the bay. Tiny and Martha look so much alike in many ways, their breast bands are very similar and Tiny sometimes can look female in direct light, except you can see a little bit of a mustache growing. They have slightly different shaped heads, but are pretty close to the same size.

Tiny in the morning

Tiny and his mom

Hawk Scare

When I went to the ballpark area, I only found 7 killdeer and I think they were all adults. They were doing alarm deets and looking at me standing outside the fence. This was unusual as they don't usually get upset when I stand where I was standing. They were also hardly moving and then they began laying down in the grass. This is a sign that they are hiding from a visual predator such as a hawk. So, I looked around and found a Cooper's Hawk right above me. He swooped down to catch a grackle, who got away, and then perched right above my head. I thought of taking a photos, but decided not to.

I went away to check on the duckling, but he was not there, again. In fact, almost all the ducks were gone from that area save a couple of males and one female, not the duckling's mom. There were about twenty ducks laying on the shore in a closed area. I figured the duckling and his mom just went somewhere else due to the heat we've been having.

When I came back, the hawk was gone and so were all the killdeer and other birds. One male killdeer was there, alone when I went onto the field, but he flew over towards George's territory. Other killdeer were heard on Del Cerro and Cowles Point, most likely the adult chicks and, possibly, their mom.

When I was leaving, I was hoping to see George with Firecracker and Killer, but, instead, found the two brothers, Tiny and Killer comforting each other without a parent in sight. When Killer got a little nervous because of a dog passing by, he chirped to his brother and began walking towards him. Then, Tiny met him and did a trill, a greeting that I've heard the brothers do before. Trilling is usually associated with an angry killdeer, but I think, in this case, this was a happy sound they made to make sure neither of them wanted to fight.

Killer

His brother, Tiny

Tiny's "Talent":

I've heard of killdeer eating dead minnows before, but Tiny seems to have a knack for catching live ones. I've caught him, at least twice, catching minnows and even have a photo of him doing so:

Look! I caught a fish! Now, what do I do?

He seems to bite them through their middle, but the tail parts of the fish wrap around his nostrils and upper part of his bill. I believe he waits until the fish dies, rinses his bill and eats the remaining parts as they wash off. I never see him do anything different than any other killdeer in catching them, yet he seems to be able to. He must move quicker than the eye.

When another group of people walked by, including a little girl who was not very respectful of wildlife, they flew off. As I was leaving, I heard the aggressive deet sound and saw one killdeer chasing another. I think it was George chasing away one of the seven killdeer, most likely the lone bachelor, sending him back to the ballfield area. He even took a swipe at the intruder. I would bet that this male got a look at Firecracker and may have tried to steal her away, but dad said "no". Apparently, Firecracker said, "no" also as she didn't follow him.

A good thing about crows:

Crows have a bad reputation and I have to admit that they quite often deserve it. They attack and tease other birds for no reason. They also eat eggs and chicks and sometimes kill adult birds. But, one thing crows are good for is keeping birds of prey out of the area. A red-tail hawk was circling around George's territory, probably looking for squirrels or rabbits, but the crows attacked him. And, crows seem to know the difference between a hawk and a vulture, too. Two vultures were flying nearby, un-harassed, but the hawk was definitely unwelcome in the crows' area.

Also seen:

Cute, cute, cute: A sanderling family of 4!



They were adorable, bathing and being cute. I think two are juvenile.



Sanderlings are brave and not afraid of larger birds. I've seen them attack killdeer, who often gang up on them. They aren't even really afraid of people and not shy at all. And, they can be cute, too!

More "chicks" come out of hiding

Martha was alone when I first arrived

Today, when I first arrived at the lake, the coyotes were having a howl fest. I don't know what their problem was, but it was way past their bedtime of 7AM. It may be due to the fact that the construction work in the M6 area has begun again. And, it is LOUD! Good thing that all the chicks can fly away now.

Today, there was another "extra" killdeer in the ballfield. I suspect that Digger has made her way on the killdeer social scene with her appearance there. I can't really tell for sure as I didn't see her when she molted and got her adult feathers and colors, but I really suspect that she may be there. And, I think her sister, Secret is becoming less afraid. I don't think I've seen Digger's dad or her sister Shy there, yet. But, they may be on their way.

Digger? I'm not really sure, but could be

Could this be young Secret? I'm not sure, but maybe

The reason why I am still holding out for Shy is that Killer, the third of George and Martha's chicks has come onto the scene in Alvarado Bay. I know it's Killer and not Tiny because the one that I think is Tiny has the same forehead marks that he had when he was a baby. Killer is much smaller than Tiny (go figure, you call something Tiny and it grows big), but just as feisty.

Tiny and, I think, Firecracker. Tiny is playing "King of the Mountain" with his sister

Tiny on left, Killer on the right

Killer and Tiny like to fight with each other. They posture, call and chase each other around. I don't think they're serious, but this is good play for them. Firecracker watches and tries to follow, but they often fly around from place to place and she can't keep up.

Mom, on the far left, is watching over them

Martha in front, Tiny in background

Firecracker in center, Killer on left and a pigeon on the right

At first, I thought Mom was the only adult there and she flew off with the boys leaving Firecracker alone and calling for companionship. But, when I looked through my photos, one of the killdeer I thought was Firecracker was actually George, the dad. But, Firecracker was still very lonely and called for her brothers.

George the dad watches over Firecracker

Wait for me! says Firecracker

While I was looking over my photos, a noticed that either Tiny or Firecracker almost got snagged in some fishing line.

This killdeer was walking right through fishing line

I went back later in the late afternoon and it was all cleaned up. All three chicks were playing with one parent watching over them as they dodged loose dogs and people walking by. Luckily, they can fly away from danger now. I don't know which parent was watching them at that time as I didn't have my binoculars. I think it was dad because he was keeping his distance from them, probably trying to stay out of the fighting.

Dad doesn't seem to be aggressive towards his sons one bit, but stays on the sidelines, watching out for hawks, humans and dogs as his kids play. Perhaps having a sibling along will keep the male chicks' raging hormones directed at each other rather than their father.

George's previous male chick didn't have a brother to spar with and ended up picking fights with older males and getting hurt, not to mention attacking his dad who didn't want to be near him because of his aggression. It might have put Junior at a disadvantage, socially.

Also seen today:

Several Bushtits:




The little duckling (10 days old now)





A couple of Say's Phoebe (sorry about the branch over his eye). It could be a kingbird, but the bill and wing-shape were different as was the call.



A spotted sandpiper


I think this might be a pair of yellow warblers, a female and juvenile being fed.

Rose-Ring Parakeet flock in College Area

There is a flock of what I suspect to be rose-ring parakeets flying around the College Area of San Diego. I hear that there was a colony on SDSU and the trees or habitat they used was destroyed. The people who had removed the habitat say that the birds haven't been there in 14 years. Well, I've been hearing the flock flying around for the last week or two. I even saw them at the College Grove shopping center.

If you've seen the birds and have video and/or photographs, please let me know. If you get photos before I do, I will post them here with credit to you.

Thanks!