Lots to see at the lake

Tiny

Today, there was lots going on this morning at Lake Murray. Tiny was all alone in the feeding area. I have a feeling that Killer and Digger may be gone for good and found their own home. Now, it could be Tiny's turn to use the area.

Tiny was taking a bath:

Do you mind? I'm taking a bath!

Then, all his duck and coot friends came over to say hello to him. Tiny's a bit uncomfortable with coots, but he likes ducks.

Hello ducks!

Duck news:

All the ducks are doing great right now. Bill is no longer feeding them, but someone is leaving some seed around here and there and many of the animals are very fat right now, so there's no worry. The pigeons and ducks still associate me with food and the pigeons will land on my hands and arms.

Tom came up to see if I had any food. He nipped my hands, gently, but when he realized that I didn't taste good, he left. Later, someone offered him bread, but he didn't care for that, either.



Snowball, Flycatcher, and the fish-food ducklings were doing well. Chocolate was seen with some friends.



This may be Chocolate's dad, but there's three that look similar. This duck usually stands straight up, but he's trying to sleep right now.



Ducky is doing well and he's getting bossy when it comes to getting girls, even though he's still not quite old enough to breed. Here he is shoving his way between a flycatcher sister and his duckling-hood friend:



The pintail was there and was very friendly. And, that one injured/sick duck was almost completely healed. He started growing again, too. I also saw one gadwall:



And, Curly is doing well, came right up to me wondering where his food was:



And, something new, some northern shovelers (and some scaups):



I found this clump of down, it's very soft and still attached to some skin. There is a duck missing a good chunk of his feathers near his leg, but he's not this color. There was also a big white feather nearby, too. It could also be from a goose. Perhaps a dog or coyote chomped on it. There were dog tracks nearby, but people walk their dogs along the lake all the time. Other than that one duck, I don't see anyone injured and I don't suspect anyone is missing. However, one of the gadwalls that hang out as a pair was not seen today, but was seen yesterday. But, gadwalls often come and go there.




Hawk vs Crows/ravens:

The young female Cooper's hawk was being very ambitious when she took on some crows and ravens. One crow viciously returned her attack and tried to get the rest of his family to join in, but they were cautious.



Originally, I thought that the crows were mobbing her while she was minding her own business, but she was deliberately attacking them, one in particular-- the one who fought back.



I saw her almost catch him, too. She loves to attack black-colored birds, but these guys were way bigger than her. I don't know if she got her breakfast. This crow and raven were watching everything without joining in.

Little Male very nervous and more on the ducklings

M2 was spending time in Little Male's territory. He looks a lot like Little Male and I wonder if they're related, perhaps M2 is an older brother or even his father. But, one way that I can tell the difference is that M2 has gotten so extremely calm and doesn't yell hardly at all. He has seemed to learn that if he's quiet and still, no one will bother him.

M2 spending time in Little Male's feeding area. I don't know what that object is on the right. I thought it was a corn cob, but it may be the top of a plant. The lake is low now and all kinds of things float up.

Little Male was being totally uncooperative with getting his picture taken. He started screaming way before I could see him and wouldn't let me get anywhere near. He was extremely nervous, probably because of another killdeer being nearby. I think he had a bad fight experience and ever since then, he has been terrible with his nervousness and screaming. I would think he would be used to people right now as he spends a lot of time in a very busy area. He screamed so much that M2 came over an answered his call. M2 didn't do a fight call, but another chirp-beep in answer to Little Male's call. He landed nearby and Little Male flew near him. I wondered if a fight was going to take place, but a nearby crow decided he had enough of the screaming and chased M1 away to the other side of the bay. Over there, people were walking around and he began screaming at them, too.

Little Male wants me to stay far, far away. He won't let me take his picture from the front.

M2, who was being quiet, was completely ignored by the crow.

M8 could be heard and not seen, I didn't feel like chasing him. Another killdeer was hanging out on one of the baseball fields, which was being mowed. Whatever killdeer that was over there was pretty upset about that lawnmower. M4's voice is very raspy, but he has actually gotten calmer. He lets me approach him pretty close now. No sign of any females, but females can be very quiet and you can pass by them without knowing they're there sometimes. You have to watch the males to see if they act more nervous than normal.

The ducklings that almost became hawk food have made it to four days old. They've doubled in size, but are very tiny, still. A fish nibbled on them and they ran straight to mama. But, still, they go off on their own and disobey mom, so they have a high chance of being eaten by a fish. Luckily, they get fed by people near the shore where they're at, so they don't have to cross the water to get food.

The "Hawk Food" ducklings, four day old

The other three older ducklings that were almost fish food were not seen, but are probably OK. They are three weeks old now and usually when they get to that age, they're chances of making it to being full grown are pretty good..

Lots of baby coots all over, too. A large bird, either a dark colored eagle or a vulture, was picking off the really young babies in nests on top of the fallen reeds. But, a lot of them have made it to almost full-grown status.

A baby coot, almost fully grown. Are they called chicks or cooties?