Chocked full of hummingbirds in Julian, CA

There's a store in Julian, CA called the "Birdwatcher" that sells all things related to birds and bird feeders.  They have several feeders located throughout their property and birds are at them all day long.  The lighting wasn't that great for photos for several hours, though.  I have posted several photos I took below.  Forgive me if I mis-match the hummingbird IDs.

When I first arrived, I found a couple of Allen's and possibly one rufous at the feeders.  But, I couldn't get a photo of said rufous.  I did get a photo of a female Allen's.  I say it's an Allen's and not a rufous because of the curve in the bill:

This might be a juvenile male Allen's (or a worn male):

Anna's hummingbirds were very common:

I think this one is an Anna's because of the way the chest looks and its straight bill, but the wings are a bit long.  It could be a Costa's or a hybrid:

Costa's hummingbirds were also very common, almost as common as Anna's.  I think this is a female:

And, I think this one is a male:

There were a few that I wasn't sure, like this one.  It might be a Costa's or an Anna's.  Considering how much white is showing, I am guessing juvenile Costa's.

There were a few black-chinned hummers, too.  This one is a male:

And, this one is a female:

They had seed feeders up, too.  Here are some lesser goldfinches on a Nyjer seed feeder:

I also saw a white-breasted nuthatch, but he didn't stay very still, so the photo is blurry.  Plus, he looks worn:

Update on the domestics and killdeer

The bitey duck is still there and he's still bitey.  However, if you feed him promptly, he is not so bitey.  And, I've noticed that he only likes certain people, so the general public are not in any real danger of being bitten from what I've seen, unless some kid runs up and tries to chase him.  I gave him his food in a small bowl to which he spilled a third of it and then ate the rest, pushing the bowl around.  He then turned around and ate what was on the ground.  When I picked up the bowl, he tapped my shoe, but did not bite.

This scaup pigged out on the rice, too, when I moved away.  It's funny watching scaup walking on land.  After all the food was gone, the Pekin and the scaup were following me around.  I tried to lead the Pekin to some other Pekins, but as soon as he saw them, he turned around and went the other way.  Later, the Pekin's friend came to check up on him, but was detoured by two fishermen, so the two never got together.

Jill has been all alone lately.  I have no idea where her Canada goose friend and his white Chinese hybrid goose friend went to.  They probably went to a new place to eat and I just haven't found them, yet.  I thought those other two were both males, but maybe I was wrong and there's a female in that pair and maybe one is on a nest.

Louie comes up to Jill sometimes and makes googly eyes at her.  I think she's warming up to him and often grazes when he's nearby.

Louie often herds Jill to new places.  "Picked on" the Canada gander still hangs around, but keeps his distance when Louie is with Jill.  But, Jill and Louie are not a pair because if anything separates them or if Louie goes away, Jill does not follow.

The baby Canada goose (now two years old) just swims around calling, but doesn't hang around anyone most of the time.

 I saw some wigeons who look like they're starting to molt.  The mallards haven't started molted and they're late in doing so.  They should have started molting by now.

There were three wigeons by the lake walking path:

Smudge and her mate:

There are two male killdeer hanging out in Junior's territory.  One acts like Killer Jr, so I think he might be Killer's son, George IV.  The other might be his brother, or could be George III who generally travels with Junior who should be arriving soon.

And, I have a baby hummingbird in my yard.  Or, I did until a couple of days ago.  I think he's all on his own now and his mom has a new nest.

Bigboi, the Cayuga duck seems a lot better today.  Big Daddy is hanging out with Cinnamon.  I saw no sign of Oreo at all and I looked all over for him.  But, I did see him last week, so he might be OK.

A dowitcher came to visit

A juvenile long-billed dowitcher came to visit the ballfield killdeer this morning.  I couldn't get too close because the gate was locked, plus I would have scared the birds.

George III was there and he seemed to not know what to make of the dowitcher.

George had a cute young female with a puffy chest band with him.  Perhaps he finally has a mate now.  He was mate-less all of last year.

She seemed to be a little scared of the dowitcher, but not much.

I couldn't get any more photos of the dowitcher, he kept putting his head under his wing and going to sleep.

I'm not sure who this is in the next photo, it might be the Beautiful Dad, perhaps that female is his daughter:

Too bad I couldn't get a clearer photo of this Anna's hummingbird and the gnats:

Fred the yellowlegs was flying around calling.  He circled me many times before flying off.  He likes to be near the killdeer and I think he was looking for them as well as others of his own kind.

More baby hummingbirds

My newest baby Anna's hummingbirds are about ready to fly.  I've been keeping their nest a secret because the last two hummingbird nests, built closer to the ground, had been vandalized and chicks and eggs went missing.  But, these guys can probably fly now, so I feel they're safe.

I also worked at a place, today, where there was a duck pond and saw 7 baby ducklings and killdeer (and a great blue heron stalking the ducklings, there, too!).  Someone who works there say that, usually, most of the ducklings survive at that pond.  I didn't have my camera, so I didn't take any pictures of them.

Rainy day and wood ducks

It was dark and rainy, so, again, hard to get pictures.  Below is a photo of a bunch of ducks hoping for a handout.  I accounted for all the popular ducks except for Quacker, they flying Cayuga.  She has been completely missing for 10 day now and I think her boyfriend is with her.  Over the last few months, she seemed to be acting like she was sick of human beings and going off to be alone.  Now, Louie the gander is acting the same way, too.

I saw at least four or five wood ducks today.  

Spoonface says "Hi!"

The sora only seems to come out when it rains:

And, finally, from my house here are two hummingbirds that hatched over two weeks ago.  They should be flying soon.

Bad News:

In bad news, another duck was found strangled by fishing line this morning.  I didn't see him when I got there, but a couple hours later, he was found being eaten by vultures.  There was fishing line wrapped around his neck and he looked like he had suffocated like the other duck before.  Scaup usually feed far off shore, so it's a mystery how he got tangled up.

Spoonface!!!!!

I went really early and found a couple people feeding the ducks while it was still dark.  Many of the ducks flew off as I came up.  But, then, as I was talking about Spoonface (Bossy), a little scruffy duck walked up.  At first, I thought it was Poquito, but then I saw the weird wing feathers and finally, I saw the orange ring!  It was Spoonface!  He has almost got is full colors and it looks like many of his flying feathers grew back.

You can still see the ring around his neck

Then, in a flash, he was gone.

Also there was who I think is Doodle's Placekeeper who was there with his female, but I'm not sure.

There was one bufflehead at the lake, here he is flying away:

All the geese were across the lake, including Jill.  Louie is too scared to go over there.  Here he is with Picked On.  I wonder if Picked On is a girl, maybe she's in love with Louie and that's why she doesn't want him to be with Jill.  But, I've seen them fighting, so I'm fairly sure he's a boy.

**Photo below may be graphic:

Final end for a lesser scaup, feeding the vultures.  I think he died naturally and did not die a violent death.

To compensate, here is a living lesser scaup, female:

And, a whole bunch of lesser scaups in the same area, all alive, too.

Pepper was there along with his "normal" brother.  His "weird" brother was across the lake.

Pretty male Anna's hummingbird:

Compare that one to my mystery hummingbird.  I wish I could compare size, but the one below is very tiny.

And, finally, a decent photo of a Bewick's wren:

Update on the sick/hurt California gull.  The people who said they would take care of him claimed that they couldn't find him later on that day.  The next day, he was found dead near the water.  His photo will be added to the Lake Murray Birds Memorial Album on George Killdeer's page on Facebook.

Rain today

You can see the rain in the above photo.  That's the mystery hummingbird.  Below, is another similar hummingbird that was close enough to me so that the flash illuminated her orange-ness.  So, I think they're rufous or Allen's hummingbirds.

Another sick young gull, time, a California gull.  He's more mobile then the other one, but very weak.  Didn't even want to get out of the rain.  He's also got a busted foot.  The lady that helped me last time wasn't there, so I had to leave him.  Another staff member said he would take care of him later, but I don't know if they will remember.  I don't think he'll make it much longer.  He is acting like Hop-a-long Bill was before he died.

Here's a photo of a spotted towhee:

Somebody lost some of their feathers, probably one of the raptors.  I did see Big Mama Cooper and she was fine:

Big Daddy (whom I also found out is not only called Cinnamon, but Paprika, too), still hanging in there:

Cinnamon (with Pepper trailing after her):

When I first arrived, I could not find Louie!  But, his Canada goose friend was nowhere to be seen, also, so I figured they were together.  I saw them later.

This is Louie's companion, Picked-on.  I originally thought he was the one that was stolen last year, but, nope, this is him.  He's a total nutcase.  Him and Louie fight and I don't think Louie likes him, but he likes Louie and if Louie's not around, he will keep calling for him:

I've been seeing Not Pepper around lately, but he's being a pain to photograph:

 

Pepper's been very co-operative:

Haven't taken a photo of this guy in a while, it's Stumpy (Or Stubby-tail).  He was one of the ducklings hatched two years ago in Alvarado Bay:

And, finally, I thought I'd get a photo of Ducky, another duck I haven't photographed in a while, and his mate.  Ducky still never got his colors 100% and now he's beginning to molt again:

Bossy is still missing and I saw the Northern Harrier eating a coot where he was last seen.  I sure hope that she didn't get Bossy, too.  I also didn't see Hurt Wing and Curly, either.  It's possible that Bossy is hiding out until the hawk goes away.  Also, Peaches and Caramel were seen today, too.