Flying pelicans, cormorants and Buffleheads

There was a lot of motion at the lake when I went on my walk yesterday. As I passed by the baseball field I thought I heard a hawk screeching. When I got to the lake I saw the same three white ducks on or near the shore North of the pier. Two have orange bills and third has a dark bill with a stripe down the middle.

From far away I could see there was only one bird on the platform, a solitary great egret:

By the time a walked level with it, there were six pelicans flying across the lake from South to North. They whirled around in the air for quite some time. Also flying across the lake were cormorants and then Buffleheads. The pelicans eventually landed around the platform, joining three that were already swimming, for a total of nine.

I spied Phyllis across the lake in her usual spot. As I rounded the island I saw an American coot standing on a flat log so that its feet were in the water. It stomped its feet, splashing water in a playful way that I found funny. 

It was joined by another coot and they soon swam off together. Around the lake, I noticed several male and female mallards seeming to pair off.

There were eight turtles on one log and sixteen on another for a total of twenty-four. I noticed that the scum on the lake was getting more prevalent although it can make an interesting pattern:

As I rounded the Southern part of the island I saw that Phyllis was smack dab in the middle of the road. She quickly waddled across the path and down an embankment, joining a line of ducks going into the water. They swam rapidly North as a group of nine.

The Buffleheads were back in number. This time they were spread across a wider area as well. I spotted at least four males. They can be difficult to spot because in my experience they're almost always diving.