{"id":79794,"date":"2019-12-24T06:16:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T13:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=79794"},"modified":"2019-12-24T07:12:24","modified_gmt":"2019-12-24T14:12:24","slug":"a-speed-skating-coot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/24\/a-speed-skating-coot\/","title":{"rendered":"A Speed Skating Coot"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><em>Occasionally I rerun a favorite older post and this one is more recent than most. It&#8217;s only 3 years old but until last night I hadn&#8217;t seen it since then and I really enjoyed reliving the antics of this hilarious coot as it was slip-sliding on the ice so I thought my readers would too. For this version I&#8217;ve edited the text and cleaned up some of the formatting. All images are presented in the order they were taken.\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The huge, goofy-looking feet of coots aren&#8217;t made to run on anything, least of all incredibly slick ice.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday I spent some time photographing birds at a pond near my home. Most of the pond was frozen but there were two areas of open water separated from each other by about 40 yards of ice and most of the birds were concentrated in the two patches of open water. The intimidating ice between the two areas of open water was the setup for a highly amusing American Coot determined to move from one patch of water to the other.<\/p>\n<p>Coots apparently feel vulnerable to predators when they&#8217;re on the ice (presumably because they can&#8217;t dive to escape) so when this one felt the need to move to the patch of water closest to me it attempted to run as fast as it could across the ice to reach it. The sun had come out and it had warmed the ice just enough that there was a thin layer of water on top so the ice was incredibly slick.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44667\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940875&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2701-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44667 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2701-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2701-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2701-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I first noticed &#8220;him&#8221; after he had left the water further away and was already scrambling to reach the open water directly in front of me. Typically coots don&#8217;t use their wings when they&#8217;re running but every time his feet would slip out from under him on the slippery ice his wings would come out for stability.<\/p>\n<p>As you&#8217;re about to see, that happened often.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44668\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940875&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2703-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44668 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2703-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2703-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2703-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Time and time again his legs went their own way and he&#8217;d have to try to recover with his wings (keep in mind he&#8217;s running fast, or attempting to, the entire time).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44669\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940887&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2713-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44669 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2713-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2713-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2713-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Those silly-looking and very long lobed toes certainly didn&#8217;t make his task any easier.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44670\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940887&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2714-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44670 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2714-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2714-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It often seemed like his feet were determined to go in a completely different direction than the rest of him.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44671\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940897&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2740-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44671 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2740-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2740-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2740-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Occasionally he&#8217;d make a few steps without slipping and that gave him enough confidence to fold his wings and attempt to run normally.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44672\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940898&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2741-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44672 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2741-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2741-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2741-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But his feet and\u00a0 legs had a mind of their own so he was usually trying to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44673\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940898&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2744-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44673 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2744-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2744-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2744-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>recover his balance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44674\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940899&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2749-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44674 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2749-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2749-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2749-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One foot or the other always seemed to be going its own way. If this doesn&#8217;t look like a speed-skating posture I&#8217;ve never seen one.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44675\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940899&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2753-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44675 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2753-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2753-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2753-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here he&#8217;s slowed down slightly because he&#8217;s approaching the water&#8217;s edge which was thickly packed with gulls and other birds and he was obviously starting to think about picking a spot where he could squeeze between them and get safely back into the water.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44676\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"822,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940900&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2759-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44676 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2759-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2759-ron-dudley\" width=\"822\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley.jpg 822w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley-274x300.jpg 274w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley-768x841.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley-137x150.jpg 137w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2759-ron-dudley-400x438.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 822px) 100vw, 822px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But even at that slower speed he couldn&#8217;t keep his feet beneath him as he tried to change direction slightly.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44677\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,608\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940900&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2761-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44677 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2761-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2761-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"608\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley-768x519.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley-150x101.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2761-ron-dudley-400x270.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here he&#8217;s picked a spot between the two gulls at the bottom of the frame in order to access the water.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44678\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940901&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2766-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44678 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2766-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2766-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2766-ron-dudley-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But he was still running fairly fast so&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44679\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,696\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940902&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2771-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44679 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2771-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2771-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"696\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley-768x594.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley-150x116.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2771-ron-dudley-400x309.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>his feet continued to be uncooperative.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44680\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,659\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940902&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2772-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44680 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2772-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2772-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"659\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley-768x562.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley-150x110.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2772-ron-dudley-400x293.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>He definitely wasn&#8217;t having any fun but I give him a perfect 10 for his crossover technique.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44681\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,656\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940904&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2791-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44681 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2791-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2791-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley-768x560.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2791-ron-dudley-400x292.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But eventually he did reach the water&#8217;s edge (seen at lower left).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44682\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/29\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-coot-tries-to-run-on-ice\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1482940904&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"american-coot-2792-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-44682 size-full\" title=\"american-coot-2792-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"american-coot-2792-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2792-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I can only imagine his sense of relief as he stopped running, folded his wings and plopped into the safety of the water.<\/p>\n<p>I took 92 images of the coot as he was slip-sliding across the ice and I was laughing so hard the entire time I&#8217;m amazed any of them are sharp. Other than this bird I was pretty much skunked on the pond so a little comic relief was welcome entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>Ron<\/p>\n<p><em>Note: Apologies for not providing image techs but with this many photos it was just too much work, especially\u00a0 since I enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in on Christmas Eve morning.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The huge, goofy-looking feet of coots aren&#8217;t made to run on anything, least of all incredibly slick ice.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/24\/a-speed-skating-coot\/\"><span>Continue reading<\/span><i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1051,5,334],"tags":[1052,1054,509,3241,311],"class_list":["post-79794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-bird-oddities","category-birds","tag-american-coot","tag-fulica-americana","tag-running","tag-slipping-on-ice","tag-utah-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/american-coot-2714-ron-dudley.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-kL0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}