Poor Tiny, you must leave home now

Time for Tiny to go

The killdeer are back and they seem to be gearing up for the winter breeding season. Already, young males are beginning to spar and older couples are returning to their former breeding grounds.

The friendly killdeer, possibly Surprise

I'm not sure who this young male is

I think this is the M6 mom

In George's feeding area, Tiny is getting the boot from mom and dad. Both parents are puffing up and trilling at him when he comes too close. George is being very gentle, but firm. Occasionally, he will walk up to Tiny, do a small scrape in the ground, and sit on it as if it was a nest. He seemed to be saying that he's ready to nest again and wants Tiny to stay away as he may be a threat to the new chicks.

Mom, Martha, comes up to "talk" to Tiny

Poor Tiny, he really seems to want to be with his parents, but tries to keep his distance and is beginning to get the message to stay away from them. I don't know what happened to Tiny's mate, so it's likely that Tiny will join the group of bachelor males that fly around harassing the territory owners and trying to steal their mates.

Dad, George, and Tiny have a "discussion".

Last year, George and Martha laid eggs around the beginning of February and Junior and Mary were probably hatched in early March.

Ducks and Geese:

I didn't see Cinnamon and the large crested mallard duck today, but I did see the rest of the males that were competing for her. I think she has finally chosen her mate and is off for some alone time with him. I did not see her today.

Those geese in the M4 area are getting even more aggressive and are hissing at me. It's not personal, they are that way with everyone. I did find a way to make peace with them. Find some ducks and start throwing food to the ducks and these geese will immediately change their attitude. I need to be able to get to that area to see which killdeer are going to breed there, so I should make sure I have treats when I go to that area from now on.

M2 acting weird, M6 chicks and Mom missing, and a Quiet Female

M2 is acting "weird"

It was a very warm morning this morning. When I arrived at the lake, I saw no sign of killdeers at the entrance. I walked around the north side of the parking lot and found M2 near the east end. He immediately began making alarm calls. I walked away, but he continued to call even when I was very far away. In fact, he didn't stop calling until I was out of sight.

When I came to "Padre Point" where M2 and F3 like to nest, he began to call again--from across the lake. His calls became more excited when I headed to the area where the chicks liked to hide. However, I did not see any other killdeer or eggs. M2 continued to call even after I walked out of the area until I was out of sight.

When I came back a couple of hours later and walked across the shore in that area, he began to call again across the lake. When I went through the brush to the "display area" (this is where M2 likes to do distraction displays when his chicks were hiding), M2 got really upset and flew over and began to call me to chase him through the display area. He continued to make alarm calls until I was well out of the area and began to make them again when I showed up on the other side of the lake on the beach. I could hear him make calls for his mate and after making those, he calmed down and only made a few alarm calls calming down to none.

Does this mean that they've already started to lay a new nest? I see no signs of his females, but females can be very quiet while nesting if they need to. I never found the first nest before. Also, Little Male, their son, was residing in that north side beach in the past, so that may have had an effect on their behavior regarding their nests before. Little Male is now somewhere else with his own nest, so M2 is free to call and roam the area.

M2 has always been a very friendly male letting me get very close to him and rarely ever made alarm calls if I kept my distance. This is a total change in behavior. It could be that he is especially nervous about his new nest and wants to make sure it's completely safe. I am going to try to keep more of a distance this time with him and his chicks, should I be privileged to know them and see them. I may even rent a better lens so that I can get photos of the chicks running around and not crouching on the ground.

M6 chicks and Mom missing

I needed to check on the status of the M6 chicks because more construction on the lake is being planned right in their exact area. When I first arrived, I found no killdeer. Walking along the beach, I did find the dad killdeer in a very hard to reach area where I had first found the chicks long ago. Dad was very excited to see me there, but there was no sign of Mom or the chicks. Dad killdeer followed me around as I searched and seemed to get very excited when I looked into the reeds, but I heard no response to his calls. He was acting very much like F3 did the first morning her chicks were missing--it was like he was sure they were there, but he didn't know where.

When I left the area, he began calling for his mate and chicks and did not stop. I did notice a crow or hawk under a shade tree, but it didn't not excite him. It was very sad as he never got an answer to his calls.

Whatever happened to them happened last night as Dad doesn't seem to be convinced that they're gone. What's strange is that the mom is nowhere to be seen. I thought, perhaps, she just left early after the chicks disappearance, or that Dad was hanging on longer than she did, or she became a victim of whatever got the chicks.

M6 Mom killdeer and chicks are missing

But, I remember back to other killdeer stories where a family was attacked while brooding the chicks at night and one parent and the remaining chicks disappear. It's entirely possible that the mom ran away with the chicks to another location and that the dad, in the excitement, didn't know which way they went. She may be in another male's territory and the Dad may not want to follow her. Or, one or two of the chicks were caught by something and Mom went with the other ones to a safer area and Dad was sticking behind "just in case" the missing chicks were only hiding nearby.

With killdeer, sometimes you just don't know in regards to their chicks. So, until Dad makes a new nest (or behaves like he's going to), I'm going to assume those chicks are alive with mom and maybe I'll see them again when they're bigger. I may check on them tomorrow to see if Dad's behavior changes to being a non-parent.

A Quiet Female

It's highly possible that there is a nest in the M8 area. I heard killdeer chirps and calls that sounded like a killdeer calling their mate in that area. When I went to check, I didn't see or hear anything. When I passed through that area later, I decided to check there and didn't hear anything, but saw a female foraging in part of that area. She flew away and didn't make a sound. I tried, twice, to take her photo, but she flew away across the lake before I could do so. She made no sounds at all. Very strange.

She looked a little bit like the female that was in the M2 territory earlier, not quite a smooth band, but almost a V shape with a little black rectangle underneath.

Update on killdeer chicks day 3. Also, 3 new chicks found!

Tiny (the smallest one) waits for dad, who was standing nearby, to warm him up

Day three and I could only find two at a time each time I visited. They scatter, now, when I approach and hide behind rocks. They still freeze when I approach, which may be a problem, but at least they move out of the way when I initially walk up. And, they hide behind or near larger rocks, so, their chances of accidentally getting stepped on is lower.

In the morning, I found two on the shore and I thought I heard a third peeping in the bushes. I photographed the two which seem to be the biggest and the middle sized one.

The middle sized chick

The largest chick who likes to run a lot

Later, when I came back, they had moved into a brushy area and, again, I saw only two in the brush and maybe heard a third hiding in some nearby reeds. I think the two I saw were the biggest and the smallest.

The parents seem to be not as excited with me there, except when I start looking through the brush for their chicks. They also don't like me being on one stretch of land which is actually far, far away from where their chicks are at, but where I can still watch them. When I leave this area, they go out on the road and do broken wing acts. People don't really understand what's going on, though. Hopefully, they won't hurt anyone and I won't get blamed if they do.

Mom checks me out

When M2 was up on the road trying to distract me, he noticed the Cooper's hawk that was perching nearby. It's not unusual to see that hawk there and he was probably not watching the chicks, but M2 attacked him and chased him away.

Three new chicks discovered

Unfamiliar male killdeer in the M6 territory

I found three new chicks in an area where I rarely go, but I was only physically able to get a look at one chick. There were definitely two more as their peeping was really loud and distinct. I am unfamiliar with the parents. They were in a very brushy area that has a steep slope behind it. Except for coyotes in the area, they are very well protected from just about everything that could get them. I won't be attempting to observe them very often because by the time I find a way down to them, they have already scattered into the brush. It's very hard to observe them there because, even though I see the parents go into the brush to attend them, it's hard to actually see them. They appear to be a couple of days older than M1 and F3's chicks as the one I saw is almost double the size of theirs.

One of three chicks in this area hiding in some reeds

Next update is several days away during the weekend when people will be fishing on the shore and picking up trash there, too. I hope that their human evasion techniques will be better by then as they will be almost a week old and 25% grown. I am also hoping that no one hurts them or their parents because of the racket they raise or because they don't understand their behavior.

Hopefully, I will see all three together, but it's unlikely. And, hopefully, there will be happy updates to come.

M1 and F3 had chicks!

Running Chick at Lake Murray

I went to check on the aftermath that the 4th of July fireworks had on the birds at the lake. When I arrived, I found M1, M2 and both their mates missing. M2 has been missing for over a week and I assumed he was flying back and forth from Mission Trails where his mate was. But, I was wrong.

I went and checked on what I assumed was Little Male's breeding area as I could hear two killdeer screaming at people fishing on the shore. When I arrived there, I saw an adult killdeer and a chick running under the brush. The adults appeared to be M2 and possibly his mate, F3 whom I had witness breeding June 7th. I immediately searched for the chick, much to the dismay of the two adults there, but found none. So, I waited and listened. Every time the two adults would call, I would hear responses from four different directions. With even more patience, I saw both parents brood three separate chicks. I managed to get up and find the chicks in the locations that the adults were seen brooding them.

The chicks stayed very, very still and I was able to move branches around them to get a photo of the three. They appeared to be about ten to twelve hours old, which meant that they were born right in the middle of the 4th of July fireworks celebrations. I got my photos and backed off, hoping to find the fourth. People were beginning to notice all the noise. I hope I wasn't waking people up in the houses, but I think they were too far away to notice. I decided to leave them alone and come back later.

An hour or so later, I came back and the parents were still protective, but I saw no chicks at all. I went around to the bushes to see how the parents would react, but they didn't seem really excited and I saw no chicks. Then, I saw a lone chick get up and run several yards away and disappear. I didn't find any other chicks. I walked over to where the chick used to be and the parents went nuts, but still no other chicks. When the adults made their calls, I also heard no responses, possibly because they weren't in need of being kept warm at that time.

I will be posting a movie-slideshow later on. I may not be able to see these chicks again because, at twelve or thirteen hours old, they were already very adept at hiding and running.


Update on other killdeers:

Little Male and his mate was nowhere to be seen. However, I thought I saw a third adult stop by the area where M2 and F3 were raising their chicks, but it didn't stay. It's possible that was Little Male and he may be nesting nearby.

M4 was not at his home, but several killdeers were heard across a small bay that could have been him and the two ballpark killdeers who were absent from the ballpark when I first arrived. The male arrived back on the field as I was leaving. M4's territory was ground zero for the fireworks yesterday. I expect that he will be back in his territory within the next few days. I also expect to see Little Male sometime in the next week either at a nest or on his beach.

I caught "Little Male" in the act!

The day started out normally. M2 was not in his territory, hopefully helping F3 with the nest over near the northern area of Mission Trails Park where "Little Male" was possibly born. M4 was doing well and got most of his voice back. But, things got strange after that.

I found a new "couple" of killdeer on one of the baseball fields and, boy, were they acting strange towards some squirrels. I will talk more about that in another post.

When I was going back to my car, I hear a killdeer doing his annoying yell and assumed it was Little Male complaining that I was walking by. But, then, I heard the strange call that I hear when males were fighting each other. I looked over and I saw one killdeer on the back of another, but couldn't get the photo as the one on the bottom was very nervous and walked to where he/she wouldn't be seen. The one on top did a bob-dip courtship dance, but I don't think it was answered.

At first, I thought I was seeing M2 fighting with Little Male and this was a way to enforce dominance on the other one. The one on top was way too calm to be little male and the other was way too nervous to be a female. But, after consulting my photos, I have found that they were actually Little Male and a very pretty female with a smooth breast band.

Little Male is in front, the female in the background

The female tried to keep me from getting a good look at her, but didn't totally hide. Little Male began kneeling down and flashing his red-tail at me in a more "friendly" distraction manner. I don't think he was trying to pick a fight, but trying to get me to leave her alone and pay attention to him.

"Look at me! Not at her!"

I sat down and watched and Little Male pretty much walked right up to me, gave me a dirty look, and flew way over to his nesting area, actually overshooting it. I think he wanted me to follow and not his mate as he was way out of the area that he normally goes to. The female didn't follow, but neither did I. I was able to get a few good photos of her, alone, before I left.

"Thanks for spoiling the fun!"

I don't think I've ever seen this pretty lady before.

While I was in M2's territory, I heard a killdeer call and though it was M2 hiding, but I think it was actually Little Male looking for his mate.

Hopefully, the female can hold off laying eggs for another five days until after the fourth of July. There's a high likelihood that any nest will be crushed by people wanting to see the fireworks if it's laid before then. I think F3 didn't lay her eggs for at least a week, so it will be OK if this female decides to lay her eggs in his territory.

Killdeer Update, M2 and F3 "missing"

M1, Little Male, in an area where seed is given to the doves. M1's sore on the front of his chest has healed.

I couldn't find any sign of M2 or his mate today. At one time, I thought I heard an alarm and territorial call from him when M1 was forced to cross the lake by someone walking their dog. But, I think it might have been my ears playing trick with me. I didn't see him when I got to the lake and I didn't see him when I came back. I haven't heard or seen of any headless bird bodies, so it's unlikely that the grackles got him. The grackles have actually been behaving reasonably well towards the other birds (and people) so far. So, it's very likely that M2 is in his nesting area with his mate and eggs.

I've noticed that killdeers have two parts to their territories: a feeding area (where they are most of the time) and a nesting area that is usually within sight of their feeding territory. This may be an adaptation to living with "smart" predators like crows, grackles, and ravens who watch the habits of the birds whose babies or eggs they eat. The males spend most of their time in their feeding area, only visiting their nesting area once in a while to "show" the nesting site to a prospective mate and to check on it's current safety level. After the chicks hatch, they may or may not bring them to the feeding area depending on how safe the parents feel that area is. That is probably why killdeer families "disappear" after the first day or two after they hatch. The family is brought to a "feeding area".

I still have not found where M2's nesting area is. It's undoubtedly within sight of his territory, but that could me a mile away on the other side of the lake. I am hoping that by the time the chicks are a day old, most of the grackles will be done nesting and be out of the area or in fewer numbers. But, it appears that some of the grackles are building new nests, including a pair in M4's area. However, I think that pair may disperse when the ravens decide to return to the area. Grackles do hang out with other blackbirds, but I don't think they like ravens and crows, especially when they're outnumbered. If I start seeing F3, M2's mate, more frequently in the future, I am going to assume that their nest was a failure.

Speaking of M4, I don't exactly know where his nesting area is, but I have a suspicion that it's in the area with the grackles. If the grackle number stays low (1-4 individuals), the killdeer may be OK and not be bothered. But, I think it's more likely that the nesting area is in M7's area as M4 is constantly "watching" that area and fighting off other males who try to take residence there.

Today, M4's voice was nearly gone. He could hardly call above a whisper. He seemed very nervous while I was there and was having such a hard time with his voice that I thought I should leave so that he could get his voice back. No sign of "Bo" anywhere.

I thought I heard a killdeer in the M8 area today doing an alarm call. It's hard to tell because there's so many finches and phoebes making a lot of noise that it was hard to tell. I didn't go and check it out. Chances are that it's the "Deets", but it could be M2 as the "Deets" showed up in this area last time M2 was missing (though the "Deets" looked and acted like totally different killdeer, maybe they could actually be M2 and F3 all puffed up or something). Killdeer behavior does change when they are in their breeding areas, mostly with more nervousness and defensiveness.

Get out of my territory!

F3 being very friendly

Killdeer are about the same size as the mourning doves

M2 is making sure everything is safe

Today, I found M2 and his mate foraging in the southern part of M1's territory. He's been having a dispute with M1 over who should own this area. Today, they were eating birdseed with the doves and also feasting on the ants in the area. While observing those two, I noticed that "Little Male", M1 was sneaking up behind us.

I see you guys over there and I'm not going to tolerate this much more! (note the dark spot on his chest, it could be from fighting)

You better leave or I'm coming over there as soon as the humans are gone!

I left the area a few minutes later and within 10 minutes, I could hear the sound of two males arguing with their "kill-dee" sounds. But, M2 didn't leave just then. However, eventually, M1 won the fight and M2 was forced back into his territory without his mate. I guess she just wasn't finished feeding yet. I don't know if M1 and the female (F3) mated, but M2 was all alone in his territory for a long time, calling for her.

I miss my girlfriend

I've never seen or heard of an example of a "companion call" on any of the other websites. It's a lot like the alarm call, but shorter and softer. It's kinda like the difference between "beep" and "cheep" with the companion call being the "cheep" and a bit shorter. Poor guy, he seemed to be asking for my help in getting her back, walking up towards me, showing now fear. But, this is something he has got to deal with himself.

Whitening of feathers=aging?

M4 appears to be an old male in many ways, mainly through his behavior and demeanor. But, I've noticed that he has a lot more white feathers than the other adult birds. On his face, he still has much of the black that many males have, but he does have a LOT of white feathers there. Also, his tail, which should be mostly brown, black and orange has a lot of white, also. This is not normal as the tail is the way that males display threats not only to potential predators, but to other males and to court mates.

M4 has a lot of white around his eye, but still has a prominent black stripe running from his beak

Today, when I visited M4's territory, I noticed that his voice was very, very raspy. He can still do his high-pitched "kill-dee" call, but all his other calls sound like he has laryngitis. He could just be sick, but his over-all feather appearance and health appears good. He doesn't have any bare spots or feathers sticking out strangely--a sign that a bird is not healthy. His coat generally appears glossy, though not as glossy as the very young male, M1 ("Little Male").

M4's tail feathers have an abnormal amount of white and the red part is paler

The beautiful, young female in M4's territory seems to be gone and that could be why he spends much of his time flying around and doing territorial calls. It's very possible that he's in a lot of fights, but his feather condition doesn't indicate that, as well, except for a little scruffiness.

I can't really estimate M4's age as I have just met him this year, but killdeers have been known to live 10 or 11 years in the wild, but not usually. I would suspect him to be a minimum of six to seven years old, possibly eight or nine, but not beyond that. If I am correct about his senior status, this could be his last breeding season.

1 Female and 3 Males Fighting Over Her

I haven't seen the "Deets" in a while and no killdeer are in the M8 territory, lately. It's good because that area is going to be inundated with human activity starting today and going for over a month. But, Mr. Deet may be one of the three males I saw over in the M7 territory across from M4.

I usually don't go over to that side of the lake, but I just had to see what four killdeer could be doing in one spot.

One male passes the female in order to chase another male away

Here are all four together, the female is on the bottom left. Look at how large and puffed up the males' neckbands are.

The female watches the males battle it out. The two on the right were actually attacking each other. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a photo of the attacks

The male on the left ends up flying off, trying to land near me, then giving up and flying away.

The second male on the right in the bottom photo flew off with the other male and began calling, but when he returned the third male and the female were gone. He was so mad at me and began to yell warning calls even though it didn't bother him that I was standing there before.

Scandal at the lake! Little Male's mate--Stolen?

I decided to go to Lake Murray this morning to check up on all the birds I have been keeping tabs of. I found my little lost duckling and sibling had found their mom and were being as adorable as ever. I also found several brand new hatchlings swimming around the lake. M2 (Second Male) was back on the other side of the bay getting really upset over something, probably all the people around.

But, when I went to check on "Little Male's" (M1) territory to see how he and his new mate was doing, I found it empty save some ducks and ducklings. The water level was a lot lower and I was able to walk around, but no sign of him. I thought I heard him on the other side of the lake, so I went over there and could not find him. I also heard 4th male (M4) yelling back at them.

Then, I could hear the sound of three killdeers screaming back over near the dam and the water treatment plant. One of them was M2 reacting to two male killdeers "yelling it out" over near 3rd Male (M3)'s territory. Now, I haven't talked much about M3 and his female, F1 because I haven't gotten any good pictures of them, yet. (You can see some in the "spot the killdeer" game a few posts back). They have their territory over by the dam, but were originally "arguing" with M1 about his territory when M1 was still a new adult before moving to that other area where they are now. There is one, possibly two more males with territories on the lake: 5th Male (M5) that has his territory where the treatment plant is and I can't really observe him and a possible 6th male (M6) on the opposite side of the lake past the fence near the dam. There may be another male or two near the ballfields on the north side of the lake. Most of the fight was over M3's territory, ocassionally flying back toward M1's territory.

I couldn't confirm that it was M1 and M3, but I could tell it was two males and they were fighting (making "swipes" at each other). At first, I thought it might be a "marriage flight" between M3 and F1, but the more I watched, the more it looked like it was two fighting males. It could also be a "duel" to impress the female in the area and show off their fitness.

It's entirely possible that F2 is, in fact F1 and she may have had her head turned by the young M1 and was seriously checking out his nest site. However, she might not have liked the close proximaty of his territory to people and dogs and went back to where there were fewer people around. Being the love-struck teenager that M1 is, he will not let her go that easy. I watched the arguing for about an hour and it looked like the older M3 was getting tired, but not giving up, either. I could not get a visual lock on where F2 was.

Another theory could be that the other bird screaming a territorial call that I wrote about a couple of posts back was, indeed M3 calling back his mate to his territory. I thought it was a bold move for M2 to claim part of M1's territory so soon, but it makes more sense that it was M3 challenging "Little Male" to a fight and demanding his "wife" back.

I will check up on them in a few days. I am concerned if M1 wins the fight that he may take over that territory and I may never see him again (or have a lot of difficulty doing so). I seriously doubt that the older, more experienced M3 will let him do that. In a way, M3's territory will be much safer for any nests and chicks than M1's and it will be better if he's sucessful.

I've got one more thing to say: WILL SOMEONE PLEASE LAY SOME EGGS AND RAISE SOME HEALTHY CHICKS!!!!

4th of July is coming and I don't want any trampled nests.

"Little Male" takes a mate

"Little Male" (to be known as 1st Male, Male1 or M1) has taken a mate and selected a nesting site. He is very aggressive in defending that site and his mate. He doesn't want me to pay any attention to her at all and will fly around, yelling, if I look her way. (I think he was also trying to impress her with his "protection skills") I call the female Female2 or F2 because she's the second female I've seen this season.

"Little Male" (M1) and his mate (F2)

F2 heads down into the water under M1's protection

F2 is keeping her eye on me

I think I know where he's going to put his nest because he gets really excited if I walk near that spot and comes up to me really close (less than 10 feet away) or flies up near me and then runs or flies away. It's in an area that is not accessed by people that much, but still accessible to humans and their dogs. Hopefully, no one will mess with their nest or chicks. I plan to "nest watch" only on the less busy days so as not to draw too much attention to me going into that area and all the noise that they will make when I do.

I saw a hawk drop down in that area and start walking around the lake shore. Both M1 and F2 mobbed it, flying around, screaming, diving at it. I thought that maybe it was after some eggs or chicks, but there weren't any. It was probably looking for something like that, though. Those two potential parents didn't let it stay in peace.

Meanwhile, "Second Male" (Male2 or M2) has taken over part of "Little Male's" former territory on the other side of the lake. Since M1 has a mate and has become more defensive, he makes a lot more noise to which M2 responds to very loudly, even flying over the area proclaiming it as his own. M1 seems to be staying only on the one side of the lake, probably to better defend the possible nesting site.

"Second Male", M2 flies over his new portion of his territory, yelling his proclamation