Tuesday, March 17, 2015

American Coot

 American Coot (Fulica americana)

It's mid March and already there's a coot swimming in our icy waters! It came surprisingly close to me, quite content to dive under the ice for aquatic treats.

Chicken-like bird with odd-shaped feet

I was hoping it would climb up on the ice so I could get a closer look at it's feet. It didn't, but it did come close enough for me to see one foot under the cloudy water. Notice, the foot is not webbed like a duck's but it can still swim.

I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

41 comments:

Unknown said...

Lovely reflection in the first shot. Neat capture of the foot.

The Cranky said...

Impeccably captured! Now if my teeth will just stop chattering...

Andy said...

A very good sign that spring is on it's way. I saw two red wing black birds yesterday.

Unknown said...

That's a pretty one, I like the white beek :)
Have a beautiful day
【ツ】Knipsa

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

there feet are hilarious. Looks like they have bubbles on them. Great shots and reflection. Happy St Patrick’s Day.

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

nice shots of the coot!!
look at those cute little feet!!
and the RED EYES!!!! wow!

BBbbbrrrrrrrr!!

Darla said...

Nice looking bird. I wonder where the term "old coot" comes from.

Darla

MadSnapper said...

so maybe this is a Canadian coot! LOL.. he is a beauty and it is odd to see non webbed feet that can swim like that..

Gill - That British Woman said...

after the wind and snow this morning, it will be flying south again. Gosh it's nippy cold out there.

John's Island said...

Hi Tina, These are some excellent shots of the American Coot. (Sometimes I wonder where they came up with the name!) Thanks for your kind comment about my postcard collection! Have a great day! John

Birdman said...

Hahahaha
Is that an old coot?
American expression= old person.

Linda W. said...

Interesting bird, especially the feet! Nice shots!

TexWisGirl said...

such neat birds! you're the second blogger i've read today to show them. :)

William Kendall said...

Very different feet indeed for a water bird. It looks like a real character.

Hannah said...

Great shots, I love the glossy black feathers and the fantastic red eyes! While they don't have webbing, the have modified scales that add resistance on the down stroke and flatten on the up stroke, pretty neat.

Sylvia K said...

Handsome fellow and great to be able to see his foot with no webbing! Love his RED eyes!!

Adam Jones said...

Lovely light in these shots. Nice to see the legs below the water too.

Carletta said...

Chicken like bird with chicken like feet! :) Wonderful close ups of Mr. Red Eye!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

He's very similar to our coot EG, possibly ours doesn't have the marks on its beak.

Janie said...

Interesting to see that the coot's feet are not duck-like. Nice shots. Looks like you're having a mind winter, as are we here in Utah.

RedPat said...

He must have to put a lot of effort into swimming without the webbing on his feet, EG!
I will get you pics of the crocuses when they come out. ;-)

A Colorful World said...

Great photos! he doesn't seem to mind that icy water at all!

Mary Hone said...

They are such an odd bird, and apparently well insulated.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots.

Taken For Granted said...

I've been called an "Old Coot". Those name callers didn't realize what a fine looking bird this is. In the future I'll take no offense at this name. Fine photos.

Grandma C said...

Beautiful Coot shots!
I know what you mean about Coot feet looking interesting.
I a photo of coot feet look on my blog ..... Thursday 12/1/11 Funny Duck Feet- Palo Alto Duck Pond

Breathtaking said...

Impeccaable captures of the Coot with great reflections.

Anonymous said...

I like the reflection in your fisrt shot

VP said...

Our subjects often ignore or even contradict our photographic wishes...

Jenny said...

His head feathers look more life fur than feathers, and his toes are surprisingly long. I've never seen a coot up close - neat pictures.

Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening said...

You have captured the coot beautifully. I had seen something that looked like this and wasn't sure what it was...fascinating animal!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I knew about coots and their chicken" feet,. We see them pretty often in Oregon and here. But I guess I've never gotten close enough to them, because I didn't know about that red eye! Great photo, but wow it is still awfully cold up there!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

We have thousands that overwinter here in the Pacific Northwest - funny birds. Great capture.

Unknown said...

Fascinating stuff, I like the ice in the picture...

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Beautiful pic!...:)JP

Kay said...

Now I'm curious about why their feet aren't webbed. Hmmmm. I didn't realize they had such striking red eyes. Great shots!

Jenn Jilks said...

Tina, you do such amazing work!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Those are lovely close shots of the Coot.

Stephanie said...

You captured the Coot beautifully!

Rose said...

Every time I see a coot, I think of how the one would follow Lorelei all around the pond at my daughter's complex when we were in Califonia the month of April. It would hear her voice, and here it would come...and it would swim and follow us everywhere.

21 Wits said...

I always like seeing them, and they swim about in large groups on our lakes! It's beautiful to see.

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.