Fred the Greater Yellowlegs Returns

Fred the greater yellowlegs returned to Lake Murray to fatten up for his long trip to the far north.  These birds nest just south of the tundra line.  Fred loves the little minnow fishes in the lake and the flies along the shore.  

The phoebes have a new, completed nest and I think they have eggs in it, too.

Mom phoebe was very upset that about 40 grackles and blackbirds were hanging around the roof above her nest.

Dad wasn't too happy about it, either:

Spoonface says hello and that he still has that orange ring around his neck.  You can see it under his feathers.  He still doesn't have his main primary feather on one side, so he still can't fly off.

The scaups are leaving, but a few are hanging around hoping to fatten up on some human-fed treats before they migrate.  Though they don't fly as far north as the yellowlegs, they do have a long ways to go to get to their breeding grounds.

Sorry about the next photo, but I thought this duck was cool.  He looks a lot like Buffy, but more mallardish.  I'm betting he's one of Buffy's many offspring.

Killdeerland:

I came across a weird sight early in the morning.  Shy's mate seemed to be protecting a chick.  I only hear one chick nearby and he was emphatic about protecting it.  I wonder if he adopted the Mom and Dad's lone egg and are raising the one chick.

Junior doing a good job at hiding from me.  I didn't even see him until I was really close.  He needs to quit this act because, one day, I am going to step on him.

Squeak's dilemma:

Squeak (George's daughter) was seen with a brand new male.  He looked like ones I've seen in the Mission Bay and San Diego River areas of San Diego.

Squeak

Here is the new beau:

I think this is George III who was Squeak's closest friend and nephew.  He seems a little put-out now.

In geese news, Louie won't leave Jill alone and follows her around, constantly.  She doesn't like him at all and tries to stay near her Canada goose friend who does little to protect her.

Also, the dove's nest I saw last time is no more.  I don't know what happened to it.

'Til next time!

Nothing clears a neighoborhood like a hawk

Well, the rise in Lake Murray's water levels, the lack of insects on the lakeshore and the presence of hawks seem to have caused many birds to go elsewhere. I know that it will only be temporary, though. As soon as the food comes back, all the insect-eating birds will be back. Of course, the ducks and geese don't seem to be affected.

I did see Tiny and Firecracker trying to feed in Alvarado Bay when I arrived, but Tiny got upset at something and he and his sister flew around the area, calling. I thought they landed on the north side, but when I checked, they weren't there. So, I figured they went to the secret hiding place where their parents and brother are staying.

Tiny on the right, Firecracker on the left

Tiny has gotten huge! He's much larger than his sister and it was really evident when they flew off together. Killer is also not as big as Tiny, too. I haven't seen Martha, but I think Tiny may be bigger than her and his dad, also. That's the power of naming something Tiny.

Tiny is just about the biggest killdeer I've ever seen. I don't think he's stopped growing.

In the ballfields, almost all the killdeer are gone. I only saw the three juveniles I saw last time. One of them, I think it's "Secret" flew off and around the area, calling, but got no response. He ended up flying into a field by himself. I don't know where Mary or the rest of the flock went to. But, they will be back when they're sure the hawk has moved on, or at least stopped focusing it's hunting on their feeding areas.

The hawk was hanging around there because people feed the doves, squirrels, rabbits, starlings and grackles. They would gather in big groups that the hawk couldn't resist trying to catch one. Someone got a rabbit within the last few days, but I don't know if it was a hawk or a coyote.

Also seen: I didn't see anything new or unusual today, but yesterday, I saw three greater yellowlegs all together. I didn't see them today.

Tiny gets upset and a new chick?

Today, I didn't see anyone in George's territory when I arrived, but I did see two sandpipers and a green heron fishing for all the thousands of minnows in the area.

At the ballfield, I counted 15 killdeer between two fields. I'm sure all three chicks of the M6 territory are there as well as dad, but I can't be certain. However, I did find this curious little guy on a pitcher's mound, watching me. He looked like he still had some down on him, so I estimated that he was less than 5 weeks old. He could fly very well, though. He wasn't afraid of me at all and came really close, trying to get a look at me.

Cute little guy

This female, who looks like the M6 mom, was very concerned about him and called him back to her.

Watch out, it's dangerous there, says this female

This male, who looks like Secret, was concerned about the female who was concerned about the young male. That's Mary in the foreground.

"Secret" and Mary, I think

I'm wondering if the M6 mom was maintaining two different nests about two to three weeks apart. She had three chicks from one, but when the other nest started to hatch, she took one chick and paid attention to the other new hatchlings, going back between the two families. So far, I only see one chick of that age there.

They (the possible mom and the young killdeer) took off across Del Cerro Bay along with Secret and I think Mary, too. Suddenly, two of the killdeer abruptly changed direction near where the hawks like to roost. Two went to the south and I think the other two ended up on another ballfield. I didn't see any hawks, but they could have been there. I hope there weren't any hawks, especially if it's the little guy's first day out.

I heard a killdeer flying around from the north to the south side of the main parking lot in the south, making alarm calls. I heard two to three responses to it, but I couldn't tell who it was that was flying over.

On my way back around the lake, I found and heard a strange call of a nervous bird who didn't stay still on the north side of the parking lot. Finally, it stopped and let me take photos of it. It was a greater yellowlegs.

Look at me, I am pretty, right?

The yellowlegs went around to Alvarado Bay. Shortly after it arrived there, I heard a killdeer alarm call, then a territorial call, and a trill. Then, it was quiet for a while. When I arrived, the only killdeer I saw was Tiny, all alone. He seemed very upset and nervous. While I was there, he was quiet, but when I started leaving, the yellowlegs started to call and Tiny began making alarm calls. I don't know if Tiny was trying to warn the rest of the family I was coming, or if he was really upset about the yellowlegs. It's possible that he was trying to scare it away with the trill and the territorial call and when it didn't go away, he started to do alarm calls. The yellowlegs responded with his own call.

I don't know what that is, says Tiny

I watched through my binoculars and could see Tiny watching the yellowlegs as it approached him while he stood on a rock. But, the yellowlegs was only interested in the minnows and didn't bother Tiny at all. So, Tiny began to calm down and was fine when I left. He probably figured that this wasn't a killdeer after his territory or was going to hurt him.

It was the first time that I've heard any of the chicks make an alarm call while still on the ground.

No sign of the rest of the family, but they've gotten good at hiding in plain sight around there. I thought I heard them calling from across the bay in the fenced area.

Also seen:

A juvenile green heron early in the morning:



Lots of song sparrows as always. This one has a seed in it's mouth.