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Daily Bucket - Spring Behavior Can Be Aggressive; An Open Thread [1]
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Date: 2023-05-06
Ruddy Duck hen on the fly from an aggressive male. He was just outside the photo.
We love the idea of seeing nests, eggs and baby birds. Unfortunately, spring brings out a lot of aggression as males jockey for dominance.
Here are a few behaviors I noted at the Henderson Bird Preserve during my visit a couple of weeks ago. I walked the paths with MojaveMonkey who graciously showed me around.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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Here’s the story of this poor Ruddy hen is being chased by a drake. Fortunately she got away.
Male approaches the hen. He is paddling fast as can be seen by the wake behind him.
The title photo is the next picture as she took off when he got too close.
She half flies and half walks on water as she makes her getaway. Note the long wake she leaves as she moves quickly away.
She continues to move to the far side of the pond.
She gets farther and farther away.
Finally, she feels safe enough to stop.
As MojaveMonkey and I walked down one of the paths, a pair of Mallards burst out of the underbrush next to the pond.
The hen is definitely on the run.
They run past us paying no attention to the humans on the dirt path.
The hen then flew off and the drake did not get what he wanted.
Territory and food also caused some aggressive behaviors.
Verdin perched on a branch above a hummingbird feeder, attracting the attention of this hummer.
The Hummingbird made it clear that the Verdin was too close.
Get out now as the Hummingbird attacks again.
The Verdin paid no attention and the Hummingbird left.
Here’s the final photos. The female Yellow-headed Blackbird makes it clear to the English House Sparrow that the feeder is hers.
This is mine says the YH blackbird
The YH blackbird hens take over.
Really enjoyed visiting the Henderson Bird Preserve. It’s only about 20 minutes from the Vegas strip. So it’s close enough for you to visit if you ever make it to Las Vegas. The paths are level and very accessible. You can call several weeks in advance and make arrangements for a motorized cart tour for a small fee. Admittance is free so if you lose your money to the one-armed bandits, you can still have fun. Besides, it’s more fun to see the Strip at night anyway.
Back in Northern California, we have unseasonable light rain and snow for the next couple of days. The cooler temps are slowing the spring snowmelt which is good because if the snow melts too fast, we could have flooding. We have near record amounts of snow, so there is a real concern that the snowmelt could cause flooding. When I went over the Sierras two weeks ago there was a lot of snow was still sticking to the ground above 5,000 feet.
What’s up in your neck of the woods?
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