Martha and George may be "starting over"

George and Martha appear to be mating again

It appears that Martha and George are in breeding mode again. This may indicate that Tiny, Firecracker and Killer are no longer around. Martha will probably lay her new clutch of eggs on Sunday and those three chicks will only be three weeks old. They still need their parents as they can't fly and must rely on their cues to hide. I am particularly sad because I saved Tiny from being eaten from ants or getting sick from ant bites only to have him die later that night, probably. But, there's still hope. 18-19 day old killdeer chicks are very independent and don't always need their parents around all the time.

On the plus side, the lake level is only a few feet from normal. That means that the chicks will have less open area to travel on to get to food and water. They can hide much easier and it's possible that I may never see the new chicks or be able to follow or find them as I used to. And, it will be much harder for them to travel all the way over to where I saw the last brood, especially for very young chicks. They will more likely stay on Padre Point until they can fly or until they're at least a few weeks old. The open pipe to the area where I last saw them, possibly making it easy for a predator to prowl that area, is also now filled with water. But, I am hoping that the parents won't make the mistake of bringing their chicks through there again. If I see the new brood heading over there, I will catch and take them to wildlife rescue, or return them back to Padre Point.

Here's to hoping that those chicks are OK and will be seen in a couple of weeks. If not, those three will always be in my heart.

Across the lake, the M6 dad did not react when I walked over on other side of Del Cerro Bay. This may be due to the refilling of the lake and an expanded distance. I did see a killdeer fly from over there to my side of the lake and land nearby. I think it might be the mom and she might have a new nest where I was standing in the brush. However, when one of the workers near the M6 nesting area went back to his truck, parked nearby, I thought I heard a call coming from an area where the dad couldn't see me. So, he may be there protecting his little girl(s). It was hard to tell because of all the ducks quacking around me, ha ha.

So far, I don't see anything that the workers over there are doing that would harm the family. Also, the area is closed to fishermen and dog-walkers and the "coyote gate" is closed making it a little harder for coyotes to hunt by the lake shore (of course coyotes are good diggers and fence jumpers, but this will make hunting the chicks a little harder and possibly less "worth it").

I hope they open that area in the next week or two as I want to get a photo of Digger's breast band so that I can identify her later on when she leaves the area. At 18-19 days old, she is likely molting and beginning to show some adult feathers. In about another week, she should be fully feathered with her adult feathers and may even be starting to fly. She should definitely be flying in about 10 days and will be about the size of a sanderling, or about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of her dad. If everything is safe where the killdeer family is at, she and her sister (if still around) may hang around that area for another month as she won't be full-size until at least that time.

Also seen today at the lake were three wood ducks. Here's a photo of two of them.

Some wood ducks I saw today

"Sounds" like the M6 chicks are doing OK and "chick sounds" in George's territory?

Today, the road was closed where the M6 dad and his chicks were because they were cutting down trees in that area. I went over to Del Cerro Bay and stood where the dad, M6, would see me across on the other side of the water. Immediately, he began making "chick round-up" calls (short, sharp calls for communicating with family members). I thought I heard the response from one of his chicks from that far away, too. They were in the same place where I saw them on Sunday, out of the way of the workers so far.

In the baseball fields, three couples of killdeer along with a lot of other birds were feeding. A Cooper's hawk tried to catch one of them, but they all flew off. I don't know if the hawk was aiming for the killdeer (who first sounded the alarm) or for the fifty or sixty other birds using that field. She missed, by the way, and ended up with nothing and in a tree, possibly with a male. I don't know if the killdeer came back later or if anything happened to them after that. Knowing how cautious killdeer are, they probably didn't return to the area until they were sure she was gone. But, two of them are very possessive over that field and may have returned early.

When I first came across George in the morning, he began making alarm calls. He continued as long as he could see me. When I disappeared for a second, he stopped, but when he saw me again, he continued. When I arrived at Padre Bay, where he had the chicks, he began calling again. I looked over to his side of the lake and saw two other killdeer attacking each other, but George was not involved and continued doing alarm calls. I found out later that it was Martha and Mary who were fighting. I found them later on the other side of the parking lot near the entrance to the lake. George began calling and I thought I heard a chick responding from some brush, but my directional hearing is not that good and it could have been either Martha or Mary responding from close by. I saw no visual sign of a chick in that area and all three killdeer became extremely quiet. I didn't want to disturb them as they often got quiet when a hawk was around and maybe there was a hawk in their area, too.

Martha on the left, Mary on the right

Martha and Mary seem to be tolerating each other whenever I observe them, but Martha seemed really tense. The attack I saw earlier was near where I last saw the chicks. There has to be chicks over there as I don't think Martha or George would be so adamant to protect their turf after possibly loosing them over a week ago. George still calls if he sees me across any bay or water, but doesn't react as if a chick is nearby like the M6 male does. George didn't start doing this until last Saturday when the chicks disappeared. I don't think killdeers "hold on" to the hope that a missing chick will show up again. So, I think there has to be some chicks somewhere, possibly hiding. Hopefully, they are alright without their mom and dad shadowing them.

The lake water level is rising back to normal levels. This means that it will be very hard for me to observe any new chicks on Padre Point as many of the areas where I observed them before are not easily accessible because the water comes right up to the bushes. But, this is a good thing for the killdeer as it means safer access to food for the chicks as they will have cover close by.

The Birds!!!!!

A bunch of finches sitting on the TV antenna. Most are house finches some are lesser goldfinches. I used a little fill-flash to bring out the colors as they were originally in silhouette.

Update on "Digger" the killdeer chick

Today was the last day I would have been able to visit "Digger" and her dad before they closed it for repairs on the drainage ditch. She is two weeks old today give a day or so. I found the dad down by the benches near where the chicks first hatched. I heard the sounds of chicks peeping in possibly two directions, but definitely one. "Digger" was seen quite a bit today. Not only is she a very effective hider, but now she can run pretty good, too. She always kept one step ahead of me as I searched. Whenever I would go to look for her in a place where I saw her hide, she would run off to another place. By the time I got to the first place, she was far away from there. Since she has the habit of burying herself, I do not pursue her beyond a visual search. I would rather she not get hurt by my searching than to accidentally step on her or bury her even more.

M6 Dad trying to get me to look at him so that his daughter can move to another area

I couldn't get a photo of her because every time I saw her, she was obstructed by branches. But, she's still pretty tiny and covered by fuzz. I would say she's about 1/3 the size of her dad if at that. But, she was very mobile and could keep up with dad running. She also seemed more confident. I believe unless something strange happens, she will most likely make it another two weeks until she can fly. I also think she will be fine during the construction as she and her dad will most likely move reasonably quickly out of the way as long as nothing sudden happens or someone doesn't run over or throw things over the brush the first minute construction starts.

No sign of mom in the area. Am hoping she is in another area with any of the other missing chicks.

Also seen in the area was the juvenile blue heron. I wanted to "move him along" out of the area because of the chick(s). He was paying way too much attention to dad who ran by him chirping, paying no attention to the big bird. The heron watched and moved towards him. Generally, the herons in this area eat only fish, but I could see him snagging a bird (especially a small one) if the opportunity arose. I "mosied" him along twice, but on the second time noticed the 12 inch long fishing line stuck to him. He seems fine and it does not seem to be hindering him, but I am concerned about it. I would hate to see anything happen to that bird's leg considering how he just reached adulthood and just started out on his own. He may manage to get it off by himself as it seems to be only loosely coiled around his leg. But, it could get snagged on some reeds.

I also saw another round of coot chicks, too. Didn't think I would see any more of those this year.

Coot and chick

M6 chicks still around, hope for George and Martha's chicks

The chicks are 2 weeks old:

The "M6" chicks appear to be still alive and doing well even though I can't physically find them. But, dad is still very protective of the area and got upset when I stood near a bunch of bushes. He even did a trill and a partial broken wing act. I thought I also saw another adult female in the area, but she flew off to the other point to the east to be with another male. I think I heard at least one, possibly two chicks calling back to dad, but at nearly two weeks, they would not be as desperate for dad's attention as they were before. So, they may have chosen to stay quiet.

I did not want to search too much in the brush as I know that "Digger" likes to bury herself. I chose to listen for her response instead. Dad was fixated on keeping watch over that area even time I went away.

When I went over to the other point (across a small bay from where the Dad was) the Dad continued to do calls each time he saw me walking near the water while I was over there even though I was, supposedly, not a threat to his chicks. Or, was I? I could hear a definite chick response while I was over there. I doubt that a chick could call that loudly from across the little bay, but it's possible. Or, perhaps one of the chicks decided to follow mom to that area and is hiding nearby. That could be why dad was giving out warning calls. Male killdeer will probably not cross over to another male's territory even to "save" his own chicks. Hence, the "warning" calls.


Hope for Tiny, Killer and Firecracker, George and Martha's "Lost" Chicks

The M6 Dad's behavior was similar to George's, (M2) even though it is thought that George and Martha (F3) lost their chicks over a week ago. George and Martha were last both seen together at least twice without a chick in sight or sound, very usual for week old chicks. It is thought that their chicks were lost. However, after a few days of relative quietness and calm, George is acting very, very protective. Not quite as protective as the M6 Dad, but more nervous and protective than usual. He continues to give warning calls long after I walk away from him and am out of his sight. This is unusual as he usually quiets down after I've walked far enough away from him or show no interest. It doesn't matter when or where George sees me, but if he sees me, he always gives the alarm call. He could be on either side of the parking area or across the bay.

George got really upset when I headed toward a rocky jetty toward a fenced area and followed me there. He didn't fly at me or trill, but his calls got more upset and desperate. I wonder if Martha maybe went with the chicks over to that area past the fence where people don't usually go. Hopefully, if that's the case, Martha will bring the chicks back when they can fly and I can see how many survived.

Martha's plan to "move" the chicks may have been precipitated by the arrival of George's old mate (and possible mother to "Junior" (aka Little Male)) Mary. Mary arrived the day before the chicks "disappeared" and was seen with George and Martha two days later in that area. I haven't seen Martha since. Perhaps George "cheated" with his former mate and perhaps Martha "left with the kids". Just like M6's mate may have "left" the Dad to be with another male and Dad stayed behind with the kids.

Did the re-arrival of "Mary" cause "Martha" to leave "George" and take the chicks?

You just never know with killdeer. And, since George is an experienced Dad, it's possible that he outsmarted me by moving the babies out of my reach. Here's to happy hope for a healthy Tiny, Killer and Firecracker, the three chicks of Martha and George.

Hoping to see them again in two to three weeks

Naming the killdeer

Someone pointed out to me that there may be confusion as to what the numbers mean such as M6, M2, etc. I have a hard time picking out names and killdeer often come and go, so I didn't name those males. Killdeer are also hard to distinguish in just a glance and often I have to use binoculars or photos to tell them apart. It doesn't make it easier that they often turn their backs to me. Also, I didn't want to name them because when you name an animal, it becomes more personal and I didn't want to get too attached.

Anyway, I am going to be assigning names to some of the more commonly observed killdeer that I write about. I will also be changing the "territory map" to reflect current observations that I've seen recently, as killdeer are starting to breed in this area.

Here are some names I've picked out:

• M1= He will still be called "Little Male" in my posts, but also can be called "Junior".
• M2="George"
• F3= "Martha"
• M2's second mate more recently observed: "Mary"
• One of M6's chicks is named "Digger", but could be changed later
• M4= "Grandpa" or "Old Male"
• M4's most recent mate: "Bo"

I haven't figured out what to name the M6 male, yet or the other males I've seen.

M6 chick update

I went to check the M6 area one more time because it will closed for construction starting next Monday. I wanted to make sure there were no longer any chicks there or if any of the chicks would be in danger.

I noticed the male seemed to be protecting the area that was pointed out to me yesterday as the place where the nest originally was. So, I started there. I found the male and at least one other killdeer in that area. A third killdeer flew by and the second killdeer went off into the air and did evasive maneuvers while being chased by the third one. Both of those killdeer did not return, but Dad killdeer was still there.

I walked around the area and noticed he got very excited when I walked around some of the bushes. I thought that he might have already started a new nest, but saw none. Then, I sat down and waited. Soon, I hear the DEFINITE sound of a baby killdeer calling back, possibly two, though the other sounded much weaker. I went to the place where I thought I heard the sound and looked around, being careful where I stepped. I looked around this one big bush, but was afraid to step in any further because I knew one of the chicks like to dig under the leaves and was afraid of stepping on her. So, I went back and sat down.

I waited a while and listened to Dad call and for a long time, I didn't hear a response. I was worried that I had stepped on her. I moved further away and, finally, she started calling again. He continued to call and sometimes I would hear a response, sometimes I wouldn't. Dad was definitely responding to the call and sat down nearby, possibly offering a spot under his wing for his daughter(s). But, it was hot, so she (they) didn't come out of her (their) hiding places. Sometimes, the little chick will call back for several seconds.

Dad responds to his chick(s) calling him

Dad sat a little bit away and did very weak "broken wing acts", but not with a lot of enthusiasm. Then, he went back to the area where I heard the chick call. I left after that and it all got quiet.

I think that the little chick that likes to bury herself has survived and possibly her sister may have, too. I don't think there are three anymore, but I am sure there's one. I may name her Digger even though I really don't like that name too much, but it's the only one I can think of right now. I thought about naming her Firecracker, but that was the name I was going to give to the other chick across the lake.

Is Digger a good name for this 11-12 day old chick?