Foggy Morning at the Lake

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was having problems with Audio Swap and couldn't get the music on it.

Firecracker gets curious

Hmmm, what are you doing over here?

I rode to the lake on my bike and as soon as I was in the driveway, I saw Firecracker. She watched me ride in and seemed very curious about me, perhaps because of my bike. But, at times, she was uncomfortable and would chirp to her brother, Killer, who was hidden nearby in the bay at Lake Murray in La Mesa. She trotted over to him and he did the flirty call and cluck, but when she didn't respond, he stopped. Both killdeer were doing very well with not getting skiddish at people walking by or dogs.

Killer is more serious, not curious

George and Martha were not around, the water level was still too high for him.

Later, as I was leaving, Killer flew off, calling for her to follow him. But, instead, she crossed over the sidewalk to get a better look at me. I was afraid she was going to run into the driveway where the cars were. So, I moved closer and she moved back, only to come up to me even more. When I left, I stopped and looked back to find her watching me. Usually, she's not that interested in anything I do.

Stay away, Firecracker, don't want you to get hit by a car

Other lake news:

Someone has been setting fires in various areas of the lake, usually in the very early morning before dawn. There is an idea of who the perpetrators are and they stopped for a little while when someone spotted them. But, it looks like they might have struck again, this time hitting the porta-john at the 1/2 mile mark. Here is a photo of it, all melted inside. The roof was entirely burned out, too.



So, now, it has escalated into structures, I wonder what will happen next. I am worried they will get bolder and do something worse. I hope they don't hurt Tom or the geese or the other buildings around the lake.

Also seen:

The baby duckies of the summer are reaching breeding age! Here is Chocolate in his full colors, now almost 21 weeks old, I think.



Here are the three "fish food" sisters, I think, Caramel, Peaches and Butterscotch. They each have a male attending them (the third male was out of the shot). They about 18 1/2 weeks old now, I think. Flycatcher and Chocolate, I think, are behind them in the background.



Here is Chocolate and, I think, Flycatcher. Flycatcher is still very, very young, too young to breed. I think she's about 14 weeks old or so. So, she's got at least another month or longer before she's old enough to breed. I don't see any flirting between the two, but Chocolate shadows her around a lot. I think he's not quiet ready to breed. I hope he waits because she's so much smaller than him.



Also, here's a picture of the Pool Phoebe. He's doing just fine. His dad came by, today, to chase him around, but nothing serious.

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

Some interesting juveniles

Two young ballfield killdeer, the one on the left looks a lot like Tiny

Today, none of George's family were in the bay, though I did hear Martha's raspy call when a boat got too close to the shore past the fenced off area. So, I'm sure they were there. As I walked around, I could tell that there was no killdeer food at all in their usual feeding area, no fish, flies or ants. All the insect eating birds were also gone. There was some small flies on the north side of the parking lot and a little sandpiper was eating them, but not a whole lot.

In the ballfields, very few killdeer were seen. At one ballfield, I saw a killdeer that looked a lot like Tiny from the side. I went onto the field and this killdeer, along with his companion, were not very afraid and did no alarm calls. I took lots of photos and when I looked at them closely, I could tell they were not Tiny or any of the Alvarado Bay killdeer. The other killdeer could have been another male, or a female, it was hard to tell. It seemed very attached to the one that looked like Tiny and the one that looked like Tiny did not make any threatening calls or trills when it came close.

Nope, not Tiny, but looks very similar

A friendly companion that liked the Tiny look-a-like

A third killdeer, a male, dropped down into the ballfield and called the other two towards him. That confirmed that it was not Tiny in that field as Tiny has been getting more and more aggressive as he gets older and will not tolerate any other male to get close to him even though his brother begs for his attention.

This third killdeer had an odd shaped head and coloration. I don't know if it's just odd-growing feathers or something really is wrong with his head.

The one on the left has something wrong with its head. The one on the right has almost the exact same profile as Tiny

All three appear to be juveniles, but I don't know where they were raised or whose chicks they are. They were at least 6 weeks old, so I know they're not Junior's chicks as they aren't quite at flying age yet. I don't think they're the M6 chicks as two of the three of those were females and I double checked their baby photos to make sure.

Also seen:

A blue heron, possibly the juvenile one who has just molted into his adult plumage. He managed to get something to eat in Alvarado Bay that was black, but I don't know what. Also, I noticed that he got the fishing line off his leg (or it could be a different heron).

Brothers and Sisters, Mom and Dad

All the chicks seem to be fine, that I could see. Sometimes, it's hard to tell who is who when I see them, even with binoculars. So, I take photos of them and look at their breast bands and faces more closely for the subtle differences. But, when I first shoot those photos, I don't always know who is actually there.

In the morning, it looks like I first stumbled upon Tiny and his mom all puffed up and possibly sleeping. They flew away to another part of the same area and when I went over to that side, I assumed they were the only two killdeer there.

Martha and Tiny

The problem is that on a brown surface, like a lakeshore, killdeer almost become invisible. Luckily, they often stand by the water which makes them more visible against it. So, I shot pictures of what I thought were the same two killdeer. But, when I went home and looked at the photos, I could tell it was not the same two. The second set of photos I took look like Martha and Killer. Tiny was probably standing nearby, but I didn't expect to look for three, so I didn't see him or where he went. Therefore, when I witnessed some affectionate chirps between one and another, I originally thought that the brothers were getting along great, but it was really one chick calling after his mom and wanting to be with her.

Martha and Killer

Another photo of Martha and Killer

Later, dad was on duty along with Firecracker and Killer. All three look very similar with their markings except that one was a female. But, sometimes with shadows and if the light is in a certain angle, a female can look like a male and vice-versa, especially when there is high contrast. Dad always stays close to Firecracker, but watches over both chicks.

George watching over his children

Firecracker

Firecracker hiding behind a rock (sorta)

Killer trying to hide behind a rock, also.

When dad gets too close to one of his male chicks, he gets called at almost with a "kill-dee" sound, but not quite. It's almost like a territorial yell, but the notes aren't right and it's stopped short. There's no clucking or threat calls at all and no one gets chased. It may be a special call pleading for the resident male to not hurt him as he's just a baby and he's not a threat. When both brothers are together, it sounds closer to a territorial call, but always stopped short like it's saying "hey, you get out! Oh, sorry dad, didn't recognize you.".

I assume that whomever is missing is with the other parent.

A hawk scare?

When I was almost about to leave, the two young killdeer started making alarm calls and flew off, going around in a circle around the bay. I also saw several other birds like pigeons and grackles fly away from that area really fast. A few seconds after the young killdeer started flying around, I believe dad started after them. Two of them landed near where they were before, but one landed near a grassy area and the geese. Then, after a minute or two, the geese started running to the water. I didn't see anything other than a vulture fly by and the killdeer rarely react to them. Once in a while they do, but rarely, even the babies.

After it was all over, a killdeer chirped for everyone to get together (I assumed it was George calling for Firecracker, whom I think was the one who landed far away). I didn't go check on them as I was sure they were alright as they were the first to react to whatever it was. If it was a hawk, it probably made its strike and got what it wanted or moved on. It does bother me that the young killdeer were the first to fly off because it makes them easy targets for a hawk who likes to catch its food in the air. Maybe that's why George went after them to bring them back to the ground. Hopefully the killdeer moved out of the way of the panicking geese.

Ballpark killdeer flock:

Today, there were two killdeer missing when I first saw the group, but they were both on Cowels and Del Cerro Point. Later, one other killdeer flew away, making the total 8 when I left. It's hard to approach them close enough to get photos unlike when they are near water, so I have a hard time identifying individual ones. When I first arrived, I did see a young killdeer, a male, foraging in the field. I think that could be "Secret" and "Secret" is a male--not a female. It's possible since I never got to see him as a chick. This can be good, we've got two males and a female on one side of the lake and two females and a male on another. Maybe they'll get together.

Also seen:

Flycatcher, the almost grown duckling was seen today. I think I may have even seen a sibling or two of hers show up on the scene, also. However, the young duckling, who would now be two weeks old, was not seen. I was really sad as I look forward to him coming up to me every time I'm there. But, the weather patterns have changed and I think a lot of ducks have gone elsewhere for shade and to keep cool. Hopefully the little duckling is still around. I thought I saw his mom, but she would have come up to the shore when I threw some peas in, so I don't think it was her. A lot of ducks were missing this day, probably due to the hot weather.

Flycatcher

Two sandpipers were seen and they were fighting. I've never seen two sandpipers at this lake together. They were still in their breeding colors, but are starting to get grayer.

More ducklings! Update on Fish Food Ducklings

I made an extended version of the Fish Food ducklings slideshow:






Today, I think I saw all three of those ducklings plus their mom. They are about 9 1/2 weeks old now.

Peaches



Caramel



I think this is Butterscotch, but could be one of the Hawk Food ducklings who have been missing for a while. However, she shares many characteristics of her supposed mom and sisters, that I think it might be her. I thought I saw Butterscotch in another area of the lake, but she could have swam to this spot while I was walking there.



Here is a little 5 to 6 week old that I think is a survivor of the six ducklings that disappeared after July 4th.



Remember this little guy? This might be the duck above:



And, I saw another little duckling, probably less than a week (about 5 days) old:



Sir Francis' leg is doing really well.



No sign of the other injured duck. Maybe he is doing better.

Killdeer Update:

George and Martha were missing both times I passed through their territory. 7 killdeers were in the ballfield, but no sign of any chicks making their debut, yet. The killdeers in the ballfield were super quiet, you wouldn't even know if they're there if you didn't see them.

Also seen:

I gave the ducks some Crisp Rice, but the grackles got most of it, instead, and were feeding it to some babies.



It was all quiet in George and Martha's territory and this guy is the reason why:

Male Cooper's Hawk



He even scared the ducks even though they're too big for him. A juvenile red-tail hawk was sharing the area, also, probably because he wanted to steal the Cooper's hawk's food.


And, I thought this was a cute photo:

A wood duck and a female mallard in the sun.