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.

Tom Muscovy and a Sunday at the lake

I went to the lake today, but only for a few minutes while I got a video of Tom and the injured coot eating their breakfast. I didn't see any killdeer and the hawk was busy fending off some mockingbirds outside the lake area.

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:

I saved a coot from drowning

I arrived at Lake Murray and went to where the geese were and gave some of the coots and ducks some peas. A red-tailed hawk was flying around and I watched it get attacked, severely, by several crows. The hawk was near where George usually hangs out, but there were no killdeer at all today, not even at the ballfields. The water level was really high.

All seemed well and the hawk began to soar at a high level. I figured he was hunting squirrels and rabbits. Eventually, I went away to another part of the lake for a few minutes and when I came back the hawk was gone. I was walking over to where there was a patch of trees that Tom the Muscovy duck likes to hide under so I could give him a treat, when I saw what looked like a coot swimming near the shore kinda funny. He was rushing and jumping around, sideways. I thought he was chasing minnows and almost walked on. But, then, his wings began to flop and his head went totally under water for a long time. He started moving slower and slower until he began to twitch like it was dying.

I went into the lake and pulled him out, but he tried to bite me and went back in. Then, I grabbed him around the middle, again and pulled him totally out of the lake, but is was more like a scoop as I tried to avoid being bitten, but it was only an inch or two from the ground before he was dropped. He lay there on the shore, breathing, but not moving. I was going to pick him up again to take it to wildlife rescue, but I had my hands full with my camera and tripod. Plus, I didn't think he would survive the trip as he looked almost dead. After a minute or two, he staggered to his feet and went into the water, flopping and kicking. He was weak, at first, but managed to get himself away from shore, though he almost couldn't keep his head up.

Very weak coot, but refusing my help

He swam over to his friends and tried to stand up on the shore, but couldn't and fell over every time he tried. His friends came up and checked him out at first, but then acted scared of him and moved away or pecked at him. But, the coot was getting stronger and was able to swim away faster, though in a lop-sided way. He got better and better and started swimming really hard and keeping his head up to keep up with his friends, who continued to peck at him.

Starting to feel better, keeping his head up, though still messed up from behind. A friend keeps him company.

Eventually, by the time I was leaving, about an hour or later, he was doing fine, except that something had damaged his hind thigh and he couldn't stand. He also looked roughed up in that area, the feathers not laying flat or straight. But, he could swim fine and was eating and playing with the other coots. He could even dive for food and the lower half of his foot seemed fine, but the upper part acted like it was paralyzed, except when he was in the water. He seemed to be adapting well, though. It was not bleeding and didn't seem broken. I suspect it was just sore.

A vulture came to see if the hawk left some left-overs, but there was nothing because the hawk didn't catch anything. However, he did not go away and waited around the area with a couple of friends.

Sorry, Mr. Vulture, no dinner at this time

I think the hawk attacked him and tried to pick him up from his thigh or hind quarters and when he couldn't do that, he tried to drown him. Then, something scared the hawk away before he could finish. The coot, suddenly losing his ability to use one of his legs and possibly suffering from hypoxia, got disoriented and began to panic. I think once he caught his breath and his adrenaline raised up because of me catching him, he was able to recover. I hope there's no after effects and he will be totally recovered tomorrow except for some bruises. Hopefully it was not a loose dog attack.

On other lake news, as I said before, there were no killdeer to be seen this afternoon, not even at the ballfields. I suspect that everyone is beyond the fence area near the dam or in another open area. They will be back if the water gets low. No other shorebirds were seen.

Water levels in George's feeding area are very, very high. No killdeers today

I found out that my cheap 2.1 MP camera does video. So, here is a video mix I made this afternoon of the non-coot drama:

Drizzy Day

Shy, all by herself

Today, I came late in the day. It has been drizzling hard all day and I have a feeling that it will be worse tomorrow, so I wanted to come tonight. I had to use my little flash, which I don't like to use because it sometimes bothers the birds and I don't want to hurt or bother them. Most of the time, they don't seem to notice, though.

I didn't check the ballfield area, but in George's area, I only saw one killdeer, a lone female. I am not sure, but I think it's Shy. It's unusual that she's alone, but I have been noticing that she has been staying away from her dad more and more. If he calls, she will come up to him, but otherwise she stays by herself or with Killer, whom I didn't see, also.

Shy

The water levels were high and George hates that. Also, where George goes, so does the rest of the family.

Also seen:

My sandpiper friend followed me around the lake





Also, the geese were in the middle of the road, gathering around this puddle when there's a big lake a few feet away. Later, they were all surrounding me, hoping for food. My allergies started to act up at that time.



These two ganders always try to bite me, the brown one has grabbed me once and pushed against me violently. But, usually he's OK if you don't get too close. I think he likes to chase and boss women around, mostly. No wonder why he has no girlfriends.



Tom was so hungry this afternoon, he kept looking at my camera bag hoping that there was food inside. There wasn't. A lot of people were probably not at the lake today due to the weather, so I think he and the geese were hungry.



I saw three wood ducks, two beautiful males and a female. Here is a male:



And, here is the female:




And, here's my lost baby ducky. He followed me everywhere today, all over the lake:

Tiny becomes a flirt

2 juveniles, I think it's Tiny and Digger

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera yesterday, but Tiny was flirting, very heavily, with the two female chicks from across the lake. Shy was not that interested and Digger didn't seem overly excited, either.

Digger

Martha

Today, when I brought my camera, it was too dark to get decent photos. I saw George and the entire family and Digger in Alvarado Bay at Lake Murray. Shy was across the lake and her dad was on the shore of Padre Bay giving alarm calls to his girl. I didn't get a photo of him as he flew away. Soon after he flew away, his little daughter came over calling for him, but flew back to her spot. The killdeer seem really nervous lately, possibly due to it being busy and the males being anxious about their prospective mates.

Also seen:

Here's George standing with a spotted sandpiper wandering behind him. George acted like he was going to attack the smaller bird, at first, but backed off.

George and a sandpiper

Duckies!

Female Chocolate (Chocolate 2) was seen today. Here she is standing straight up with her runner self. I think she has the same father as Chocolate 1, but different mother.



Here's a cute little white duck, probably a small Pekin or a call duck. It's smaller than the coots.




A gentleman named Bill comes to feed the birds at the lake and leaves his bag on the ground, sometimes. Here are some ducks eating right out of his bags.

That's Tom, the Muscovy duck in the photo. He's a sweetie. Some kids came along later and threw bread at him, but it didn't hurt. He was wagging his tail like crazy in a happy way, but I think the kids were scared of him or something. I told them about how bad bread is for ducks, but that doesn't stop anyone from feeding it to the ducks. I tried to tell them that Tom liked them because he was wagging his tail. The kids did leave him alone, though, after a few minutes. I love that old duck, would be sad if anyone hurt him. I wish I could take him home.


Bill feeds them cracked corn and wild bird feed, mostly.

Bread isn't good for ducks. There's one young duck that eats too much of it and then he can't walk or swim well afterward. He ate too much today when a family visited the lake and almost couldn't move at all and looked sick afterward. He gets better after a few days and it's better than the last time he over-ate, but it's still a problem. I am considering taking him to a vet or talking to a wildlife rehabber if this continues.