Killdeer fight!

A few days ago, Killer Junior and Smudge's mate were having some sort of argument, but I don't know why.  Smudge's mate has lived on George's territory for over a year.  Killer Junior's daughter tried to get Smudge's mate for her own mate, but was unsuccessful.  Miracle, Killer Junior's mate, often hangs out in that area and that's probably why he was there.

First, here's Killer Junior:

He does a jerky sort of bow-threat dance that makes him easy to identify.

Scratching:

Smudge's mate:

Killer Junior attacked Smudge's mate by jumping and kicking at him:

Then, Killer Junior chased him.  But, Smudge's mate was also seen making aggressive moves towards Killer Junior, so he's not all innocent.

Killer Junior all puffed up and angry:

Update on the ducks:

None of Snowie's ducklings survived, she was seen without any.  Another female duck was seen with about eight one day, but not seen the next day.

Sissy duck appears to have died as has the crested Pekin that used to hang out with Cow.  Mrs. Pekin is in extremely bad shape, but holding on.  The sweet Cayuga girl has also died.

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.

Nothing clears a neighoborhood like a hawk

Well, the rise in Lake Murray's water levels, the lack of insects on the lakeshore and the presence of hawks seem to have caused many birds to go elsewhere. I know that it will only be temporary, though. As soon as the food comes back, all the insect-eating birds will be back. Of course, the ducks and geese don't seem to be affected.

I did see Tiny and Firecracker trying to feed in Alvarado Bay when I arrived, but Tiny got upset at something and he and his sister flew around the area, calling. I thought they landed on the north side, but when I checked, they weren't there. So, I figured they went to the secret hiding place where their parents and brother are staying.

Tiny on the right, Firecracker on the left

Tiny has gotten huge! He's much larger than his sister and it was really evident when they flew off together. Killer is also not as big as Tiny, too. I haven't seen Martha, but I think Tiny may be bigger than her and his dad, also. That's the power of naming something Tiny.

Tiny is just about the biggest killdeer I've ever seen. I don't think he's stopped growing.

In the ballfields, almost all the killdeer are gone. I only saw the three juveniles I saw last time. One of them, I think it's "Secret" flew off and around the area, calling, but got no response. He ended up flying into a field by himself. I don't know where Mary or the rest of the flock went to. But, they will be back when they're sure the hawk has moved on, or at least stopped focusing it's hunting on their feeding areas.

The hawk was hanging around there because people feed the doves, squirrels, rabbits, starlings and grackles. They would gather in big groups that the hawk couldn't resist trying to catch one. Someone got a rabbit within the last few days, but I don't know if it was a hawk or a coyote.

Also seen: I didn't see anything new or unusual today, but yesterday, I saw three greater yellowlegs all together. I didn't see them today.

Hawks, snakes and a sora

Tiny, all alone in the morning

Tiny was all by himself when I arrived. When I made him nervous, he began calling for his mom, but no one called back. I left him alone to go find everyone else, but found no other killdeer in the area.

On the other side of the lake, the ballfield killdeer were acting very nervous, constantly flying around into different fields. Several blackbirds, starlings and doves were also doing the same thing. Starlings are naturally more flighty than killdeer, but sometimes if the starlings fly off all of a sudden, the killdeer will follow. Other killdeer were hiding on the shoreline and the various points and I could hear them calling. I could hear two killdeer calling from the M6 area, possibly Shy (who has not been seen as an adult, yet) and her dad.

Three killdeer, I think the one in front is Mary

I found this young male with a really long tail at one of the ballfields, possibly the third chick from the M6 area, "Secret". A killdeer that looks like Mary has taken an interest in him. I hope that means that Mary's lonely days are going to be over.

Male with a long tail, possible young "Secret"

This could be the reason for the nervousness. At least two Cooper's hawks are perusing the area where people usually feed squirrels, waiting. After the person who feeds them leaves, the hawks try to catch the squirrels and the grackles. So far, I haven't seen the hawk catch any killdeer and just about all killdeer are accounted for each time I visit the lake or they show up later.

Cooper's hawk in tree at Cowel's Bay

When I saw the hawk suddenly dropped to the ground near the water's edge, I went to go make sure that she didn't get a killdeer or a duckling. I didn't really think that she did as a killdeer would have let out a scream at the last moment before trying to fly away. But, as I went towards the water, a long rattlesnake was stretched out over the road. I walked as far as I could around it as I knew it couldn't strike me with it's body all stretched out. It flicked it's tongue when I went by and realized that it didn't want to deal with me, so it began to coil up and go into the brush. I was more concerned about getting past the snake and not taking a photo of it that by the time I wanted to take a picture, he had gone deep into the brush. I didn't want to pursue him because it was too dangerous.

I never did find the hawk wherever she landed.

When I was leaving, I found George's three kids playing together.

You can see a similar long tail on Killer, who is standing on a rock, to what was on the other male across the lake. That makes me think, even more, that the male killdeer is "Secret" one of the three chicks from the M6 territory as they are exactly the same age.

Killer showing off his longish tail

The two boys decided to fly off on their own, leaving Firecracker by herself. But, she decided to go join them later on.

Tiny and Killer together


Hey, where'd everyone go?!

Also seen:

A sora. I heard a report that one was spotted last weekend and I used to hear someone talk about one all the time in the area where the Hawk Food ducklings lived. Well, here's a photo of it, seen today.

Sora

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.

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?

Weird Killdeer Photo

I thought this photo was kinda neat, sorry it's not crystal clear. This is M4 and it looks like he's about to pop his head off, ha ha. I've seen chicks do weird things with their necks, which seem to be multi-jointed, but never and adult. No wonder why he's losing his voice when he does things like this with his neck.

Killdeer news, more babies on the lake

When I arrived, I didn't see M2 or his girlfriend, F3 anywhere, which isn't unusual. I was hoping that they were attending a nest.

I visited the M8 territory to see if I could find any chicks that I might have heard running around and making little killdeer chirps. But, I didn't find any. Instead, I found M8 fighting with a strange male and female that I don't think I've ever seen before. Also, it looked like Mrs. Deet was there, too. When the intruding couple flew off, Mrs. Deet stayed with M8.

Mrs. Deet?

M8, he sure is hard to take a photo of.

The intruding male and female

The intruding female seems rather large, perhaps she's trying to find a safe spot to lay eggs.

I wonder if all this fighting over territory is one last chance of having a brood before the end of breeding season before the ones from the north return to the area.

On the way to M4's territory, I hear a coot screaming in alarm and saw a big, black bird leaving. I think it had a nestling coot, but I couldn't be sure. The bird was huge, possibly a turkey vulture. It's rare for vultures to eat live food, but I found out that they do take nestlings and weak birds once in a while. Mostly, they just don't like to chase down their food, so they take anything that can't run away fast or fight back.

Near some fisherman, I found the 16-17 day old ducklings and their mom. The fisherman said that they were next to be eaten, but they've already beaten a lot of odds and I am pulling for them. They also said that the black bird got a duckling, but the only thing that was around here were grebes, coots, and the three ducklings that seemed fine. I think the mother duck was a little worried and moved them away. I just hope the fisherman cleaned up their fishing line as it was all over the place and the ducks were really close to them.



I found a new family of ducklings, just two. The two little ones were not being obedient to mom and kept getting separated. Mom wasn't attentive enough for them.



M4 had a visitor in his territory that looked suspiciously like M2, who was chased off and headed back toward his own area. M4's voice is still raspy, but doing OK. Around his territory, the grass has been cut short in preparation for the fireworks.

As I was leaving the M4 territory, I heard a red-tail hawk call and fly over. A minute later, a mother duck (sounded like it was coming in the direction of the female with the day old ducklings) screaming her head off and I was sure that one of her ducklings was now a meal.


But, when I walked on, I saw the hawk being chased off by three or four swallows and it's talons looked empty.

But, at first, all I saw was one duckling.



Then, the second one popped up. All was well for the time being.



I didn't see the older ducklings and hope that one of them didn't get caught by the hawk. I didn't have my binoculars, but I thought I saw the mom and at least two of them hiding under some reeds far away.

Lake Update

I visited Lake Murray while it was still pretty dark, so my photos didn't come out exactly as I planned. But, it seems that the killdeer have dispersed back to their own territories.

M2 was all alone. I took a couple of photos of him using flash and I think I dazed him. But, he seemed fine after a moment and continued eating the flies along the shore. The flash made his eye turn white.



Little Male is doing OK, but still a little high strung. I don't think he knows how to use his signals correctly and gets them mixed up.

M4 is fine, he has part of his voice back, but still pretty raspy.

The last I saw these three ducklings, they were just about to be fish food. But, they're two weeks old now and getting big.



I found this male in M8's territory. I've never seen him before. Like M4, he has a lot of pale and/or white feathers on one side of his body. I'm still taking this to possibly mean that he might be an older killdeer, but it could just be a variation in killdeer feather colors. Sorry the photo is fuzzy, he didn't give me many chances to get a good one.



I swore I heard a killdeer in this area, but thought my ears were playing tricks on me. This time, I checked and there he was. I also thought I heard the sounds of killdeer chicks squeaking and scrumbling under some nearby brush, but I didn't search them out. This male didn't do a broken wing act or anything else that would indicate that there was a nest or chicks are nearby, so it might have been a mouse or squirrel making that noise. That kind of response is probably automatic with killdeer and I don't know if they can totally control it. However, this killdeer may have been so habituated to people that he had learned that just flying away was enough to get humans to leave the area.

Lake Update, night heron, killdeer and more ducklings

I just wanted to give a general update as to what has been going on at the lake in regards to the killdeers and other animals.

First of all, we have a night heron around near the main entrance stalking the squirrels. There are a ton of squirrels there, but a lot of people are upset because a lot of the animals near the parking lot are often thought of as some people's personal pets. They are fed and sometimes handled regularly. I am a bit bothered because they will eat killdeer chicks, though there aren't any around right now.


And, there is a new duckling in the neighborhood, about four or five days old and the heron is nearby. The heron sits at a squirrel burrow opening and waits for the squirrel to come out. I fear that he will do that with a duckling's hiding place, especially since ducklings don't know what to be afraid of and run right into the heron's mouth.



But, he's made it four or five days so far and the heron has been around that time, too. And, he has his mom around to protect him.

The killdeers are doing great. M2 is in his own territory, calling for his mate, whom I didn't see. But, females are basically allowed to go anywhere they want and she may just be feeding someplace else. I can't imagine that she can put off laying those eggs any longer. I wonder if killdeer can delay egg laying like some other birds can. Well, I'll find out. But, then again, she may just go and sneak some eggs into other female birds' nests. I've heard of that happening with killdeer, but it's rarely observed.

M1 ("Little Male") was originally on the south side beach when I found him. He has figured out that if he goes near the picnic tables, away from the shore, that it's harder for people to see him, so he's been hanging out there. It really is harder to see him there, though. He went over to where two men where feeding the duckling, ducks, and pigeons after they left to get some of the seed that was left. But, he got annoyed by some people and went over to his north side. I think that's when M2 sneaked over to his territory (probably because his mate was hiding over there) as I didn't see him when I left.

M4 and his mate (I can't remember what number she is, but I'll call her Bo) were doing just fine and I actually saw the two together. At first, M4 was agitated while his mate didn't seem to mind. He did his hiding thing, but he also did a gesture that I'm finding pretty common with killdeer and I don't know what it means.

What I've seen M4 and other killdeer, mostly males, do is turn his back towards me, stick his tail way up in the air and his head way down the ground, exposing his white belly. He doesn't spread or flash his tail feathers at all. I don't know if it's a trick to hide, or a white flag of surrender telling me that he's not going to fight and he wants me to go away. I know that when killdeers make threats, they generally flash the tail at the intruder, stick their tail up in the air while facing the intruder. Every time he would bow down and face towards me, he would quickly turn his back. If I don't respond, he will look back to see if I'm looking, or flatten himself on the ground. Usually, at the same time, he gives a loud trill.

M4 starting to "dip" Eventually, his whole front end will be on the ground with just his tail in the air

Eventually, he calmed down and decided I was not much of a threat and pretty much walked right up to me. I even saw him go over to the water and drink and eat a bug, which I've never seen him do. He, then, got annoyed at me and went somewhere else.

M4 getting annoyed, and calling before leaving

"Bo" running

"Bo" thinking of leaving She looks like she might have gotten into some fights, too.

M4, "Mister Cool"

Yes, I'm cool. Look at me.

Here are some photos of M4 who is relatively calm around people compared to other killdeer on the lake. He will deet at you if he thinks that you don't see him, but I don't think I've ever heard him trill or scream. Unfortunately for him, his territory is really close to where they put the fireworks show for 4th of July. Maybe that's why he's so calm, he's been through a lot already. But, let's see how cool he can be if he gets a female.

You looking at me?

I know you're looking at me!
(Sorry it's fuzzy)

***Update: This could actually be a female that is a regular resident/visitor to this area, but I can't be sure. Usually, the resident male would always be watching out for her, but in all the cases, up to this time, there were no other killdeer in the area.