This Is What Happens When A Coot Tries To Run On Ice
The huge, goofy-looking feet of coots aren’t made to run on anything, least of all extremely slick ice.
Tag: american coot
Busybody Coots
American Coots are raucous and quarrelsome birds that can be counted on to stick their noses into everybody else’s business. That personality trait provides countless interesting opportunities for the photographer who’s prepared to take advantage of them.
A Potpourri Of Recent Images (8 bird species and 1 mammal)
Though none of these photos may be truly spectacular I like each of them for their behavior, charm or uniqueness.
The Events And The Birds That Hooked Me On Bird Photography
A Grebe And A Coot Battle Repeatedly Over A Fish
These two birds fought over the fish for over three minutes.
If this post loads slowly for you it’s because it contains 19 images. Sorry for any inconvenience.
A Grebe And A Coot – What’s Going On Here?
Sometimes in the heat of the moment I get a shot that’s just a little bit different. Maybe even a whole lot different…
High Steppin’ Coot
A goofy pose when combined with outrageous-looking body parts makes me smile, especially when the subject is an American Coot.
Young Coot Giving Its Huge Foot A Pedicure
It must be awkward at times to have feet large enough to wrap several times around your own head.
Have You Seen Birds Nesting This Late In The Season? I Just Did…
I have never seen any species of bird nesting as late as the second week in October in northern Utah. Until yesterday.
Pond Dramas
Sometimes one can sit at a pond full of birds when there seems to be nothing going on. But if you pay close attention there’s often a host of little dramas playing out right under your nose.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Gadwall Stealing Food From A Coot
Gadwalls are well-known for stealing food (kleptoparasitism) from American Coots . They eat the same kinds of food (submerged aquatic vegetation), Gadwalls are almost a third bigger than coots and the two species often feed together in mixed flocks so being the bullies on the block, Gadwalls can’t resist taking advantage of the situation.
Coot Running Through Walls Of Water
Coots are quarrelsome, belligerent and cantankerous, especially the males in springtime before the females lay their eggs. Sometimes weaker combatants are killed.
Coots Don’t Like Redheads
Last spring I witnessed quite the little drama between an American Coot and a mated pair of Redheads. I’m going to be a little anthropomorphic here with my narrative (and even my title) – sorry, just can’t resist. The Redheads seemed to be minding their own business but this coot took exception when they came too close to its nest. Here the coot is apparently looking away from the ducks but the Redheads seems to know that something’s potentially up. And it was. I’m always amazed at how fast the reactions of birds are. The Redhead almost seemed to know the attack was in progress before it actually was. You’ll notice that the coot is no closer to him in this second shot than it was in the previous one. The Redhead seems to be trying to use some of the reeds to avoid the approaching coot. The attack continues… and continues… until both birds sense that it’s over and begin to settle back down into the water. The male Redhead reacts with what seems like a celebratory wing-flap that it survived the attack without any damage… and then swims off contentedly with his lady. But the coot isn’t taking any chances and lays low in the water while facing the retreating ducks with a threat pose. I was pleased to get this sequence without clipping any birds and keeping multiple subjects sharp in the frame – not easy to do…
Harlan’s Hawk On A Coot Kill (graphic)
On January 18 I photographed this Harlan’s Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA. Harlan’s is a relatively rare and very dark subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk that breeds in Alaska and northern Canada but winters in the western U.S. and the Great Plains. I posted two other shots of this bird on January 20. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in On this day I only had a few moments with the hawk before it took off. 1/2500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Then, on January 22, we located the bird once again within just a few yards of where it had been four days earlier. This time it was at the bottom of a creek gully feeding on a freshly killed American Coot. The angle was steep and it’s not the most attractive setting but the behavior was interesting so I took lots of photos of this juvenile, if for no other reason than documentation of an unusual bird enjoying a meal. 1/2500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in The bird was only nervous with our presence for a few moments, then resumed eating its meal with enthusiasm. Here it has a beak-full of feathers that it had a difficult time shaking off. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I spent over 5 minutes with this…
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Busybody Coots
American Coots are raucous and quarrelsome birds that can be counted on to stick their noses into everybody else’s business. That personality trait provides countless interesting opportunities for the photographer who’s prepared to take advantage of them.
A Potpourri Of Recent Images (8 bird species and 1 mammal)
Though none of these photos may be truly spectacular I like each of them for their behavior, charm or uniqueness.
The Events And The Birds That Hooked Me On Bird Photography
A Grebe And A Coot Battle Repeatedly Over A Fish
These two birds fought over the fish for over three minutes.
If this post loads slowly for you it’s because it contains 19 images. Sorry for any inconvenience.
A Grebe And A Coot – What’s Going On Here?
Sometimes in the heat of the moment I get a shot that’s just a little bit different. Maybe even a whole lot different…
High Steppin’ Coot
A goofy pose when combined with outrageous-looking body parts makes me smile, especially when the subject is an American Coot.
Young Coot Giving Its Huge Foot A Pedicure
It must be awkward at times to have feet large enough to wrap several times around your own head.
Have You Seen Birds Nesting This Late In The Season? I Just Did…
I have never seen any species of bird nesting as late as the second week in October in northern Utah. Until yesterday.
Pond Dramas
Sometimes one can sit at a pond full of birds when there seems to be nothing going on. But if you pay close attention there’s often a host of little dramas playing out right under your nose.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Gadwall Stealing Food From A Coot
Gadwalls are well-known for stealing food (kleptoparasitism) from American Coots . They eat the same kinds of food (submerged aquatic vegetation), Gadwalls are almost a third bigger than coots and the two species often feed together in mixed flocks so being the bullies on the block, Gadwalls can’t resist taking advantage of the situation.
Coot Running Through Walls Of Water
Coots are quarrelsome, belligerent and cantankerous, especially the males in springtime before the females lay their eggs. Sometimes weaker combatants are killed.
Coots Don’t Like Redheads
Last spring I witnessed quite the little drama between an American Coot and a mated pair of Redheads. I’m going to be a little anthropomorphic here with my narrative (and even my title) – sorry, just can’t resist. The Redheads seemed to be minding their own business but this coot took exception when they came too close to its nest. Here the coot is apparently looking away from the ducks but the Redheads seems to know that something’s potentially up. And it was. I’m always amazed at how fast the reactions of birds are. The Redhead almost seemed to know the attack was in progress before it actually was. You’ll notice that the coot is no closer to him in this second shot than it was in the previous one. The Redhead seems to be trying to use some of the reeds to avoid the approaching coot. The attack continues… and continues… until both birds sense that it’s over and begin to settle back down into the water. The male Redhead reacts with what seems like a celebratory wing-flap that it survived the attack without any damage… and then swims off contentedly with his lady. But the coot isn’t taking any chances and lays low in the water while facing the retreating ducks with a threat pose. I was pleased to get this sequence without clipping any birds and keeping multiple subjects sharp in the frame – not easy to do…
Harlan’s Hawk On A Coot Kill (graphic)
On January 18 I photographed this Harlan’s Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA. Harlan’s is a relatively rare and very dark subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk that breeds in Alaska and northern Canada but winters in the western U.S. and the Great Plains. I posted two other shots of this bird on January 20. 1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in On this day I only had a few moments with the hawk before it took off. 1/2500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Then, on January 22, we located the bird once again within just a few yards of where it had been four days earlier. This time it was at the bottom of a creek gully feeding on a freshly killed American Coot. The angle was steep and it’s not the most attractive setting but the behavior was interesting so I took lots of photos of this juvenile, if for no other reason than documentation of an unusual bird enjoying a meal. 1/2500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in The bird was only nervous with our presence for a few moments, then resumed eating its meal with enthusiasm. Here it has a beak-full of feathers that it had a difficult time shaking off. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I spent over 5 minutes with this…