Birds are migrating again

It seems like the winter birds are beginning to leave and the summer birds are starting to come in. For example, I swear I saw some cliff swallows and terns yesterday. Also, there seems to be fewer scaups and redheads lately.

Lots of pretty grass and flowers all over the place, too.

First thing I saw yesterday morning was a turkey vulture eating a coot. The coot died a week ago, probably from a raccoon attack. Vultures seem to like food that's been rotting for a week:



I saw the sick seagull and he seemed better, but still sick:



These lesser scaups were cute, though.



I only saw a few killdeer, but I could hear George and Killer doing calls.

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.

Where are the killdeers?

There were only 3 killdeers in George's feeding area at Lake Murray in San Diego and they were not being co-operative in terms of showing me who they were. I suspect that they're Killer, Digger and Digger's dad. I think the mom was gone. Killer and the dad were doing very well together with no trilling at all. However, the dad was very nervous and often stuck his head out really high, often revealing his bright-white neck ring. I wonder if that was a signal for the others to follow him. I don't blame him for being nervous, there were hawks and vultures around.

M6 dad and, I think, his daughter, Digger

The three killdeer together

I was making "kill-dee" sounds at Killer (I think) who looked at me funny

Also seen:

I saw lots of gadwalls and lesser scaups, including, I think, a couple of juveniles.

Three lesser scaups, one male, one female and I think juvenile male

Two gadwalls and three coots

A gadwall and a coot (everything was OK between them)

Two male lesser scaups

Ballfield killdeer:

The ballfield killdeer at Lake Murray haven't been seen in a while, but I can hear them. I think they may have found worm heaven on the nearby golf course and are over there feeding. I have no access to that area, so I can't keep tabs on them. That area is susceptible to hawk and falcon patrols, but I think everything will be OK with them and they will be back to their usual areas later on when the construction is finished.

Little duckies everywhere!

Scaups

A whole bunch of small diving ducks have invaded Lake Murray. Over a hundred ruddy ducks are there now and they have been joined by a lot of lesser scaup and redheads.

The killdeer are beginning to return to the ballfield. I think I saw Shy and her boyfriend hanging out with her parents in the ballfields. Shy's dad is not thrilled with her new mate, but they're getting along OK.

The M6 parents and Shy

In the other field, I can't identify all the killdeer, but I think Secret, Surprise and the Tiny-look-a-like were there plus a couple others.

The "Tiny look-a-like" and an unknown killdeer

I still haven't seen George, Martha, Tiny and Firecracker in a while and I hope that the vultures weren't looking for them on Sunday.

Here is Killer and Digger, hanging out.

Notice how their bodies and feathers look fully filled out like full-grown killdeer now.

Killer spotted a red-tail from miles away, but was not overly concerned about it.



Here's a photo of the red-tailed hawk:



Duck and goose news:

I don't think I saw Ducky, but Caramel and Butterscotch, two of the "fish food ducklings" almost got run over by a car today. Their mom, also, stepped right in front of a truck as it passed by, too. All are OK, though, but that was scary. The fish-food ducklings are three of my favorite ducks at the lake and they just reached breeding age. I want to see if they're going to be good mamas like their mom. The drivers were being careful, but sometimes the ducks move unpredictably. Luckily, they don't hang out in the parking lot too much.

Good news on the missing gray goose: I found him and his friend all the way on the other side of the lake. I don't know why they went over there, perhaps they're going to have babies and wanted to have time to themselves. I can't tell if they're male and female or which is the gander and which is the geese, though. Unfortunately, this area has large predators such as coyotes and bobcats, so I fear for them a little bit. I hope they come back to the flock, soon.



Also seen:

I saw two kingfishers, here's a photo of one of them:



And, I thought I would add a cute photo of some pied-billed grebes.