One hot duckling!

The temperatures around the area where the lake is at have been hovering around the mid to upper 90s, so I was really worried about how the ducklings, which have hatched recently, would do in this weather.  In the morning, I saw absolutely no ducklings, not even the ones I've been watching for the last three weeks.  However, in the afternoon, I finally found the one across the lake that everyone's been telling me about, but I haven't seen until today.

I guess there were three ducklings at one time and now there is one.  However, this can't be the missing duckling from the other brood as it is, at least, a week younger.  There might still be another little duckling out there that is a bit older in this area.  This duckling had absolutely no problem with the hot weather in the peak of the afternoon, it was almost as if he didn't feel it.

I haven't figured out who the mom is, but she looks a lot like Peaches, Caramel and Butterscotch. I have ruled out Caramel's two daughters, Duckling-napper, and Butterscotch's daughter. She also looks a lot like one of Bossy's sisters and that's who she might be.

This young female in the next photo seems to be looking for someone to mother her.  I've seen her before and her last best friend was the mom who had the small ducklings in my last post.  She appears to be about 2 1/2 months old and is still peeping and not quacking.  She followed this mother around today, peeping very loudly.  So far, all the females she has followed around have been very patient to her and have not driven her off.  I'm not sure who she is, but her age puts her in the range of being one from the mom with four ducklings (who was down to two and whom I managed to distract a gull from eating them), or the last duckling of a female who lost all her ducklings almost in one day to the gulls and was on the verge of losing that one.  The mother of that one was seen without any ducklings the next day, so I'm fairly certain this is not that duckling.  The former mother disappeared with her two ducklings soon after the gull attack, so this is, most likely, her duckling.

There was also a new coot family seen with two chicks:

Not much going on with the killdeers, I saw only the three males:  Pollux, his son and his baby brother.  I did not see the fourth male, whom I can't identify, today.

New ducklings!

Saw several new baby ducks today, at Lake Murray in San Diego, all about a week old, I think.  Some had eye stripes that went all the way to the back of their heads except one.

Their little tail feathers are in pin, I think, which is why I guessed them to be about a week old.  They were also at least double the size of a hatchling.

I think this is the female who was trying to steal her sister's/mother ducklings a month ago. I also think that this is the mate of the male snowy mallard.  They are very faithful to each other and it will be interesting to see how the ducklings turn out.

She took them, immediately, to an area far away and I didn't see them later.

Bye bye, babies!

I also saw the mom with the two older ducklings, too.  They seem to have grown a little.  It is very hot today and it might be very hot for the next few days.  Plus, possibly, thunderstorms.   I don't know what kind of effect the weather will have on all these little ones.

Pepper's wing has healed a little, but he can't seem to move his pinion joint too much.  As a result, his primaries have become worn and stripped.  Hurt wing's wing is also the same way.   He is still moving his wing around a bit, though.

Update on the brown pelicans:

The adult brown pelican was found on the boat docks at Lake Murray, very sick and covered with ants.  Sea World came down and took it away.  Today, two juveniles were seen and here is a photo of one just after he caught a large fish.

Two juvenile willets came to visit.  

They were just there to find some snails and bugs to eat.

 Saw a couple of pretty white pigeons.

And, finally, a juvenile northern mockingbird: