A dowitcher came to visit

A juvenile long-billed dowitcher came to visit the ballfield killdeer this morning.  I couldn't get too close because the gate was locked, plus I would have scared the birds.

George III was there and he seemed to not know what to make of the dowitcher.

George had a cute young female with a puffy chest band with him.  Perhaps he finally has a mate now.  He was mate-less all of last year.

She seemed to be a little scared of the dowitcher, but not much.

I couldn't get any more photos of the dowitcher, he kept putting his head under his wing and going to sleep.

I'm not sure who this is in the next photo, it might be the Beautiful Dad, perhaps that female is his daughter:

Too bad I couldn't get a clearer photo of this Anna's hummingbird and the gnats:

Fred the yellowlegs was flying around calling.  He circled me many times before flying off.  He likes to be near the killdeer and I think he was looking for them as well as others of his own kind.

Coot getting better, hawk almost catches a yellowlegs

The coot that got attacked and almost drowned survived the night and is actually doing better. This morning, he was eating with the other coots and using his leg, though it was obviously sore and he couldn't put any weight on it. It also looked like some feathers were lost or torn off on his hindquarters. Later, I saw him with his friends bullying other coots, so I think he's almost back to normal.

Having trouble walking, but otherwise OK

Here is a video I took with my 2.1MP camera this morning when the ducks and coots were being fed.

Good news: I found a better camera I could use, still no sound, though.

On the other side of the lake, there were over a dozen killdeer in the ballfields. I saw the Old Male killdeer (M4 male) and, I think, Mary with a couple of other females in one ballfield, I think one of the other females might be Digger. I couldn't take any photos because the gates were locked at the time..

In another field, there were at least 6 killdeer there including one that looked like a young version of Mary, but the head shape was different. I think Secret and his mom (the M6 mom, mother to Shy and Digger, too) was also in that same field as well. Secret's mom did not approve of the other females in that field. One couple ended up leaving and going to where some wood-chips were and I almost didn't see them.

Secret's mom and another female that she doesn't approve of

Secret, the female and Secret's mom

Young female, perhaps Bo or Mary's daughter

Young male, perhaps the young female's brother

Shy and her dad were all alone in another field.

Shy's dad

Shy

I think I saw a Cooper's hawk zoom by in that area. Earlier, I saw one attack two kingfishers, but was not successful.

Back in George's territory, there were no killdeer, but many ducks and coots were swimming under the trees because the water level was so high. The osprey was there, seemingly watching the coots, but, according to the experts, they're not interested in anything except fish. Of course, experts could be wrong. The raptor dropped into the water very close to the coots and, I think, got a small fish, though it really looked like he was going to catch a coot when he dropped. He flew over to another area, but was attacked either by a crow or the Cooper's hawk.

The osprey, sitting in a tree over the coots

Flying away

Later, I heard and saw 7 greater yellowlegs flying over. I could see that a small Cooper's hawk was trailing them, but they were way ahead, so I wasn't worried at first. They came into Alvarado Bay and began flying back and forth, never really settling. Then, one of the Cooper's hawk began to chase them viciously and came within an inch of catching one. One yellowlegs seemed to hit the water, but most have gotten back out because I went to see if I could find it and there was no sign of anything on the water's surface. I think all 7 yellowlegs got away. The hawk gave up and soared around before going somewhere else.

4 of 7 yellowlegs, trying to keep away from the hawk

The vultures soared over looking for hawk casualties.

Also seen:

Here are some ducks, such as Flycatcher and her sisters and brothers, sitting under a tree. This is their usual spot to rest, but it was flooded:

The duck's usually resting place was flooded

While I was taking photos of the ducks, my sandpiper friend snuck up on me, but turned around when I noticed him. Here he is hunting bugs:

Gotta get those bugs

Also, I saw this beat-up butterfly. I think it's a painted lady, but I'm not sure:



This seagull was on top of a picnic table shelter:



And, I'm not sure what kind of bird this is, I think it's a female kingbird:

Tiny gets upset and a new chick?

Today, I didn't see anyone in George's territory when I arrived, but I did see two sandpipers and a green heron fishing for all the thousands of minnows in the area.

At the ballfield, I counted 15 killdeer between two fields. I'm sure all three chicks of the M6 territory are there as well as dad, but I can't be certain. However, I did find this curious little guy on a pitcher's mound, watching me. He looked like he still had some down on him, so I estimated that he was less than 5 weeks old. He could fly very well, though. He wasn't afraid of me at all and came really close, trying to get a look at me.

Cute little guy

This female, who looks like the M6 mom, was very concerned about him and called him back to her.

Watch out, it's dangerous there, says this female

This male, who looks like Secret, was concerned about the female who was concerned about the young male. That's Mary in the foreground.

"Secret" and Mary, I think

I'm wondering if the M6 mom was maintaining two different nests about two to three weeks apart. She had three chicks from one, but when the other nest started to hatch, she took one chick and paid attention to the other new hatchlings, going back between the two families. So far, I only see one chick of that age there.

They (the possible mom and the young killdeer) took off across Del Cerro Bay along with Secret and I think Mary, too. Suddenly, two of the killdeer abruptly changed direction near where the hawks like to roost. Two went to the south and I think the other two ended up on another ballfield. I didn't see any hawks, but they could have been there. I hope there weren't any hawks, especially if it's the little guy's first day out.

I heard a killdeer flying around from the north to the south side of the main parking lot in the south, making alarm calls. I heard two to three responses to it, but I couldn't tell who it was that was flying over.

On my way back around the lake, I found and heard a strange call of a nervous bird who didn't stay still on the north side of the parking lot. Finally, it stopped and let me take photos of it. It was a greater yellowlegs.

Look at me, I am pretty, right?

The yellowlegs went around to Alvarado Bay. Shortly after it arrived there, I heard a killdeer alarm call, then a territorial call, and a trill. Then, it was quiet for a while. When I arrived, the only killdeer I saw was Tiny, all alone. He seemed very upset and nervous. While I was there, he was quiet, but when I started leaving, the yellowlegs started to call and Tiny began making alarm calls. I don't know if Tiny was trying to warn the rest of the family I was coming, or if he was really upset about the yellowlegs. It's possible that he was trying to scare it away with the trill and the territorial call and when it didn't go away, he started to do alarm calls. The yellowlegs responded with his own call.

I don't know what that is, says Tiny

I watched through my binoculars and could see Tiny watching the yellowlegs as it approached him while he stood on a rock. But, the yellowlegs was only interested in the minnows and didn't bother Tiny at all. So, Tiny began to calm down and was fine when I left. He probably figured that this wasn't a killdeer after his territory or was going to hurt him.

It was the first time that I've heard any of the chicks make an alarm call while still on the ground.

No sign of the rest of the family, but they've gotten good at hiding in plain sight around there. I thought I heard them calling from across the bay in the fenced area.

Also seen:

A juvenile green heron early in the morning:



Lots of song sparrows as always. This one has a seed in it's mouth.