Duckling's bill gets hung up on a fishing hook

The first thing I saw this morning was one of the older ducklings struggling with a fishing hook on a line that was snagged on a stick sticking out of the water at Lake Murray. At first, I thought that maybe a couple of ducks were fighting over a bug on the stick, but it was actually Caramel trying to free her baby. Apparently, the shiny lure attracted the duckling to nip at it, but she got caught and couldn't get away. All the other ducks in the area came to her rescue, including all the females with other ducklings. Thing is, there was a man sitting right there, saw what was happening, and did nothing!

I went into the water, waist deep and with clothes on, and got the fish hook out of the duckling's mouth. I didn't have anything to cut the barb off the hook, so I had to pull it back through the bill the way it came. It must have hurt and it was bleeding a little. Caramel talked to her baby while I was doing this. I was more concerned about getting the duckling back to her mom and getting out of the water that I didn't check on what the damage to the bill was. But, I think I saw the duckling a few hours later and the damage was unnoticeable to the naked eye. I could see a little blister on the bill in a photo I took, though. But, it looked like the bill had started to heal already. Either that or I had the wrong duckling in the photo. Here is the photo of the duckling that I think I saved:



I also saw that Butterscotch still had three ducklings of her own (down from 14, but many were stolen by other females). Here are two of them:



Pepper and his six siblings were all doing great, here's a photo of a few of them:





There was a group of kids there and they all seemed to love the little guys.

Ducky's ducklings are fine, too. Here is one of them:



And, the last parking lot duckling is looking scruffy:



I also saw four other ducklings that were about two to three weeks old, but didn't get photos of them. Also, one of the "stolen" ducklings from last April was eating out of someone's hand! Absolutely adorable.

And, look who I saw today! SIR FRANCIS DRAKE! If anyone remembers, he was the duck that had fishing line hung up around his leg for a year before someone could catch him. His leg was permanently damaged, but it's gotten better over the last year:



Killdeer:

Shy and her mate still continue to mob and follow me around and now the chicks have picked up their habits. Squiggy was doing mobbing calls along with the best of them. Castor was hanging out with Shy somewhere else, but seemed unworried about me compared to his sister.

I also found a killdeer that liked to hang around on a gabled roof!



This is a house with many birdhouses and feeders, though I think the owners temporarily took the bird feeders down because the Cooper's hawks have been hanging around too much. It appears that this killdeer (which, I think, is Mary's son and George's grandson) was purposely tormenting Big Mama Cooper, the Cooper's hawk (she's a very experienced shorebird hunter, too, so the killdeer was very gutsy). He was flying to the roof and then when the hawk came by, would fly down to the water where another killdeer was. Then, he would fly back, start calling, and when the hawk came back, fly off again.

The second time I passed by, he had flown to the roof and the hawk was coming back towards him. A very unfortunate blackbird was flying into the area while the hawk was heading back to the house and the hawk went after him. Though I couldn't see it, I think the hawk got the blackbird just out of view. Hopefully, there wasn't a second killdeer up there that she got instead.

Teenage killdeers in love

Killer the killdeer in the morning

The first thing I saw when I arrived was Killer (George's son) and Shy (M6 dad's daughter from across the lake) all alone near the fence, but they flew away to their family. While I was at the fence, I checked to see if George and Martha were hiding young chicks behind there, but saw nothing. Nor did either parent get upset that I was over there, so there may not be any more chicks around.

Killer and Shy

The lake level is really low and the entire family plus Shy and her dad were there. George and the M6 dad were always at it. One time, they got up and flew around, chasing each other. They flew right at a Cooper's hawk trying to catch a dove or pigeon. The other five killdeers on the ground did alarm calls as soon as they saw the hawks, all in unison. But, the adult males continued flying around, finally landing and thus ending the alarm calls.

George, yelling at the M6 dad

The M6 dad puffs up as he passes Killer to reach his daughter

Later, the M6 dad and Shy went to the other side of the parking lot. Killer followed, but kept his distance. But, all the other killdeer began flying around to different points of the lake, calling and fighting. Killer stayed behind and when I approached him, he did a half-broken wing act for an unknown reason. It looks like he still hasn't gotten all his adult display feathers.

Killer trying to do a broken wing act, lacks some display tail feathers

Many of the killdeer were flying to areas where I don't usually see them. One area is usually full of ducks, but there were none this time. I noticed a killdeer, I think it might have been George, flew there before joining the others at different points of the lake. The only killdeer at the ballfields was the little baby 8 week old, Surprise.

All four Cooper's hawks were very busy and making the killdeer very nervous. I think the hawks were having a hard time catching anything, probably due to the low water levels and the lack of doves. The adult male Cooper's hawk attacked an osprey trying to get dinner. I, at first, thought the osprey was another regular hawk and was scared for the killdeer when it swooped close to them. But, ospreys eat almost totally fish. They may take a chick or egg if they come across one and possibly some snails and slugs, but they are no treat to adult birds or mammals.

The low water levels must be making all the birds cranky. The Chinese gander, who has bitten me several times, but not seriously or often, decided to grab my calf and not let go! He was in a rage and I don't know why. I've been trying to be his friend for months, but he just won't turn around.

Also seen:

Besides the osprey, whom I couldn't get a photo of, I found the two spotted sandpipers in an odd spot of the lake.



And, two Western seagulls who seem to be either courting or doing territorial displays:

Foggy Day; Tiny goes "home"

Tiny in the fog

Today was a foggy day and I went, first, to check on Tiny and the juveniles at the lake. But, I didn't get very good pictures there.

I did notice that many of the juveniles have gotten new feathers, a little darker than the others. However, Secret, Tiny's favorite playmate-attack target, has gotten a white feather on his back.

Tiny in front, trilling at Secret with his white feather, behind

Most of the juveniles were in Field 7 at Lake Murray. Shy and her dad were all alone in another field. Her dad never lets any killdeer get close to her and vice versa.

Shy in another field

I didn't see the hawk, at first, but all the doves were gone and the starlings were all sitting on wires mimicking the killdeer. It was funny. I kept hearing the "where are you" chirp and the alarm call and going to go look for the killdeer each time, only to find the starlings. They stopped making noises when I stood under them, so I know it was them. I wonder what the other killdeer thought about these noises?

A half hour later, I was looking for George, but didn't find him. Then, Tiny came calling, flying over from across the lake. I thought, perhaps, the hawk might have chased him out or human activity caused him to leave the fields. I could hear other killdeer doing territorial defense sounds, so I figure everyone might have been chased out of that field, and possibly went to Shy's field, which her dad didn't like.

Tiny seemed really upset and didn't try to eat or anything. Instead, he stood there, right in the middle of a bunch of ducks. I think he was lonely, but he didn't call for his siblings.

Tiny in the sun, looks female-like with the sun directly on his face

Also seen:

One of two spotted sandpipers at the lake this year.



A really small duck, possibly a call duck. It looks like a mini-mallard. It could also be a different breed of wild duck I haven't seen before like a female northern pintail.

Chasing hawks in the fog

Today was a really foggy day, so some photos seem faded and look blurry because of the fog. It's also a little more difficult to determine the males and the females, too.

Ballfield killdeer:

Today, I think I saw 11 killdeer in the ballfields at Lake Murray, including two in the large field that is hardly ever used. While I was checking out one field, a flock of birds flew over and I heard the anxious and angry calls of a lone killdeer in there. At one time, she (I think) almost did a broken wing act when I came in as if she's protecting a chick. But, I saw no young chicks.

A very upset killdeer

In the other fields, the juvenile males were playing around, sparring. I think I saw Shy or Digger in another field all alone. Her dad was watching from outside the fence. I didn't see him there, at first, and he flew off, when I almost stepped on him, into the field that had the angry killdeer, leaving his daughter with the 7 other killdeer in her area.

Juvenile killdeer playing at fighting

"Fight, fight, fight!"

I think this is Shy or Digger

I think this is the M6 (Beautiful) dad in the field closest to the hawk

The doves and the starlings were all sitting on wires and very few of them were on the ground.

I started checking around some of the other fields when I nearly bumped into a male Cooper's hawk sitting on a low fence. I couldn't get a photo of him right then, but I saw him fly to a higher fence, scaring all the one or two doves away. It was totally weird that one dove was sitting only feet away from him and nothing happened. A second dove even joined the first.

"What? I'm just sitting here 'tis all" (feathers are wet)

The hawk sat on that fence, drying his wings from the fog before jumping down on the ground to get a squirrel. But, strangely, the squirrel only moved away a few feet and didn't even try to hide. He kept scavenging on the ground with the hawk only a few feet away. It was only when I approached that the squirrel ran and hid.

"Hey, I thought I had a squirrel in my talons"

I was able to take more photos as I slowly approached him as he flew around. I really wanted to nudge him out of the area by making him uncomfortable. I was a bit worried about the juvenile killdeer and their parents that I didn't want to see him hanging around there. I didn't want to harass him (which is illegal), so I mostly just slowly approached where he was and stood there, looking at him and taking pictures. I could hear his mate calling in the distance, but he didn't answer. Finally, he decided to fly over to where the big ballfield was and into the tree. I checked on the two juveniles in that field twice and they seemed fine.

His mate was calling while he was sitting here

He was almost right over the dad's head at this point

I'm sure the hawk came back there after I was gone, but I didn't want to see him catch a killdeer while I was there watching. The hawks around there, so far, don't seem to be interested in the killdeer. They seem to want rodents and rabbits the most. Even the doves don't seem to get bothered though I do know that these hawks will eat one. Grackles, starlings and blackbirds are also common targets. I know they would eat a killdeer if they caught one, but they seem uninterested in them--so far.

George and Martha's family:

I didn't see them, again, but I did hear at least two of the family calling. One appeared to be calling either from the hatching area or the area where I last saw them as chicks. I think they were in the latter as someone was setting up a fishing spot when I arrived. I walked all around that area and did not see any killdeer.

Another was probably George himself calling when a fishing boat go too close to his hidden area.

I kinda suspect that George and Martha may have new chicks now. Hopefully, the older chicks won't hurt the babies. If I'm right, then we should see them flying around in about 28-35 days.

The lake was really busy and I don't think there were any spots around where George's family would be comfortable as they are a little shy with humans.

A word about Tom the Muscovy:

Tom is a black Muscovy duck who has been a resident of Lake Murray for a long time. He's the last of several Muscovy ducks that have slowly been dying out or disappearing over the last few years. Poor Tom seems to have mites or lice really bad and is constantly itching and pulling at his feathers. He has bare spots under his wings from constant grooming. He never seems to swim anymore and I haven't seen him fly recently. He still seems pretty happy, though, and will wag his tail if you approach him and call his name. I feel sorry for Tom and wish I could help him, but I don't think I can or even if I am allowed as Tom is feral. But, hopefully the itching will stop, soon, or someone can figure out a way to help him.

Tom, in an earlier photo

Argument at the lake

Ballfield killdeer:

"Hey, I was eating there!" says the one on the right

OK, it wasn't really an argument, but rather three juvenile males fooling around. I originally thought it was a juvenile male attacking Shy and her dad defending her, but after looking at the photos, I could tell it was three male juveniles, including the Tiny look-a-like and the curious very young male (smallest of the three). The curious one was attacked by a slightly older male, possibly "Secret" and the bigger of the three came to his defense. They postured and called to each other while the smallest one moved away. Then, the two older males moved out of the ballfield and play-fought in an open grassy area.

"Fight, fight, fight!" Says the one on the right

The curious one stayed behind and went really close to an open gate. I think he is very interested in what people were doing. At one time, when I didn't have my camera, I got him to come really close to me. I went back to get my camera and someone else came on the field and he got too nervous. He moved away from me and didn't come back. I was glad that he moved away from the gate as I was afraid he was going to get too friendly with people. Not everyone likes killdeer or will be as kind to them as me, so I didn't want him to be too interested in getting near humans. Plus, some people let their dogs run around off leash outside the fields and I want him to be weary of that, too.

"Hmmm, what's going on here?" Curious young male

I saw this beautiful female in another field.

Pretty female

No one is using the one large eastern ballfield anymore. I thought it was because of the construction, but I think it might be because of hawks or a falcon scare. They're used to the hawk, but a falcon scares the wits out of them. They may be back there, later, if no hawks or falcons are seen in the area.

George and Martha's Family

Since I came in the late afternoon, I did not see any of George and Martha's family. It's not unusual for that time of day during the last month of two to not see them. They've been staying in the safe area a lot and I don't see them very much. If the lake level gets lower, George and Martha may come back to forage in Alvarado Bay.