EURASIAN COOT PARENTS AND CHICKS

This is from an old post on a vacation we took to England in the summer of 2015. When I was very young we used to visit this area a lot. I don't remember any other birds there except for the swans, and if we were lucky and at the right time of the year, we would see their cygnets. I still remember the excitement of seeing them as a young child. I remember the excitement of seeing these wonderful Eurasian Coots as an adult.  

You can enlarge my photos to get a clearer view. The Eurasian Coot's scientific name is "Fulica atra" and it is recognized by its snowy white bill and forehead shield.  The rest of its coloring is a dark sooty grey, but it does have bright red eyes.  

Immature birds are generally paler than adults, with a white wash on the throat.  Nestlings are downy black with fine yellow tips. The head is orange-red and the bill is red with a creamy white tip.

The Eurasian Coot ranges from Eurasia to Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia.  Birds have also recently transported themselves to New Zealand, and the species is quickly becoming established.

Food is mainly obtained during underwater dives which can last up to 15 seconds, and they can swim down to about 21 to 22 feet in depth.  Birds also graze on the land and on the surface of the water.  In Australia, Eurasian Coots feed almost entirely on vegetable matter, supplementing their diet with a few insects, worms and fish.  Birds of the northern hemisphere tend to be much more carnivorous.  

They breed any time conditions are favorable and may produce successive broods.  During the breeding season pairs establish and maintain territories with vigor.  Their aggression is also extended towards other species.  Nests of ducks are often seized and used as roosting sites, the unfortunate owner's eggs being pushed off into the water.  Young ducks and grebes are sometimes killed.  The nest is often a floating raft of vegetation or is built on logs or tree stumps that are surrounded by water.  Both male and female coots share incubation and care of the young.  If food becomes scarce the young birds may be killed by the parents. Nature can be wonderful but it can also be cruel. I have to keep reminding myself it is very much a matter of survival of the fittest.

I spotted these coots at Torcross in Devonshire a couple of months back (this was actually in the summer of 2010 which I mentioned in the beginning of this post). Across the road from the sea is a fresh water lake. This area is called Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve, which you can take a look at here.  There were dozens of water birds which were a whole lot of fun to observe.  They are quite used to humans.  We sat on the bench for a long time, but got up and left when a family arrived with their small dog. The ducks, of course, all headed for the water and were gone.  After walking around Torcross Village and on our way back to the car, they had returned and another family had appeared to enjoy the bench we had been sitting on.

I was fascinated by the coots and their very territorial behavior but did not realize they were as aggressive as what I read online. Still, they are a fascinating bird, especially when you look at those enormous, strange looking feet.  There is overwhelming evidence that birds are the descendants of a maniraptoran dinosaur, probably something similar - not identical - to a small Dromaeosaur.  You can take a look here.

Added note: I found a website with photos of Torcross here.  You can enlarge by clicking on them.

Thank you for looking at my coot post, and a happy day to you all.

BIRDS AT ST. JAMES PARK, LONDON

These are old photos from a vacation in England in 2015. We spent a few days in London and had a great time exploring Saint James Park. It became a favorite place to go as it was a short walk from our hotel. There were many different kinds of feathered friends. Here are a few and I have provided links with more information on each name, including a map of the park here.

I rarely get to see a Graylag Goose. This may have been the last time.

The next two photos show the Ross' Goose. I went here to identify. If any of my ID's are wrong, I would be happy for the correction. I am no expert, always learning.

This goose is slightly larger than a mallard and smaller than a Canada Goose.

Next is the Great-crested Grebe.  

Coot chick

Ruddy Shelduck

  I had never seen any before my holiday. 

There are more facts at this website.

Sometime I will share more birds from the park.

LAST POST FROM HUNTLEY MEADOWS FOR A WHILE.

At least for a little while.

This first photo was taken at the beginning of our walk, where Gregg will take the right-hand path towards the boardwalk over the marsh.  The left-hand path takes us through more woods, but eventually leads down to the marsh again.  We always go to the right as we are eager to see what wildlife there is in our favorite area, and it's just round the corner.  We only have to walk about a quarter of a mile from where we parked our car to get to this point.  

The Beaver's trademark can be seen in this photo.  He fesses up immediately, he cannot tell a lie.  

Another pair of Canada Geese shortly afterwards.  I did not see a nest.  

This pretty goose had a mate nearby but again, there was no nest that I could see.  We kept a close eye on each other.  Not that close as I took these photos with our zoom.  She/he didn't seem threatened by my presence and went on munching. 

I sat on a bench in a shaded area among the trees, while Gregg explored an area that was a bit too muddy for the shoes I was wearing.  I had not intended to get off our usual path and did not put on a sturdier pair of walking shoes.  I was wearing my comfies and they were not waterproof.  (There are benches throughout our walk, and many were being used.  A lot of people out and about, all ages.)  Gregg had taken a path, a little more overgrown, that goes to the water's edge. A minute or so after he left I heard noise, turned around and two geese were focused on eating tasty shoots as they slowly made their way in my direction.  One of them decided to take flight and landed in water nearby.  After we observed each other for another few minutes, she followed her partner and mine returned from his walk, not having seen any more birds except those too far away for photos.

There were lots of buds sprouting on trees. Spring has sprung.

 This is a Snapping Turtle I shared a photo in one of my Huntley Meadow posts.  

By this time we are almost at the end of our walk.  Wanting to see if the Wood Duck was still there, we retraced our steps.  Normally we take a different loop but that Wood Duck was calling to me, like a siren song and when I asked him, Gregg didn't mind going back the way we came.  He was still there but more awake now, more alert.

Two ladies started conversations with me on our walk.  The first saw us taking photos of the Red-winged Blackbird, and asked if I knew anything about them.  I told her what I could but suggested she look on line for more information.  She was very nice, from Pennsylvania and visiting her daughter and family.  We chatted for several minutes before her family appeared.  They were heading home and she would be going back to PA in a couple of days.  

Right after she left another lady taking photos of the Wood Duck began a conversation.  When she spoke I turned around and saw that she had a tripod and a camera attached with a very big lens, which I asked her about.  She was happy to share what she knew about her equipment and I was fascinated.   She was kind enough to offer me a look at the Wood Duck and yep, I would've been able to see that duck's tonsils if he had been facing my way with his beak open!  She told me her lens was 500 mm.  I learned that if you had a fixed lens (as she did) instead of a zoom (as I had), you could get beautifully crisp, clear photos.  I am going to have to save a few pennies for that one.  She also had a 2x teleconverter, which is a magnifying attachment you can attach between your camera and the actual lens.  I could have chatted with her for ages as she was only too happy to talk not only about her camera equipment but also about the wood duck and other birdlife she had seen.  

She told me that the Wood Duck's mate was inside the box sitting on her eggs.  She also had helpful hints, one being that I should try and get the light in the eyes of the duck for a better photo and she again let me look through the lens as the sun came out.  I could see what she was talking about.  I've often thought birds and other animals look better with the sun reflecting on them, and had noticed the spot of light in their eyes.  Gregg had walked on ahead and I didn't want to delay him any further.  It was time for us to go so I thanked this very nice lady and off we went.  By the time I got back home I needed a nap!  

We always enjoy our trips to this park.  We saw not necessarily in order, Wood Ducks, other Ducks we didn't recognize at the time, Painted Turtles, Snapping Turtles, Tadpoles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Coots, Osprey and Canada Geese.  Not bad for one outing.  I'm looking forward to the babies arriving, but I will be staying a safe distance from them and will admire from afar.

As always thank you so much for dropping by, and I hope your day is a great one.

HUNTLEY MEADOWS - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4TH, 2019

While Gregg is taking a photo of the tree, I am taking a photo of Gregg.  

This tree fell a few years ago.  We have slowly watched its roots, caked with mud and dirt that formed a perfect round, slowly disintegrate into what you see above.  That was the photo Gregg took.  Nature creates extraordinary abstract art.

The weather is finally turning warmer, new shoots are starting to show and flowers, like the Spring Beauty below, are carpeting the ground in great numbers.

A scene shared many times before, near the path just before we get to the boardwalk across the marsh area.

We started to hear a cacophony of noise, and we assumed it was the sound of hundreds of frogs out there somewhere. We didn't see one frog but in the shallow water there were dozens of tadpoles.   I mentioned this in my previous post in the video.

They were at a stage much bigger than I remember seeing before.  

Gregg took photos of the ducks but we didn't recognize them.

Any help in their ID would be gratefully appreciated.  They seem to have long beaks,  and one is more muted in color, a female perhaps. 

The turtles were out enjoying the sunshine.

I got a pretty good close up of this one.

 I think he is actually smiling!

 This next one is a Snapping Turtle.  There were several swimming around, some much larger than this.

One was swimming towards these three Coots.  Gregg said they knew the snapper was there and moved away quickly but didn't fly off.

I am going to end this post here and will share more of our walk next time.

Have a great day everyone, and thank you so much for looking at my post.

HUNTLEY MEADOWS, SECOND PART

Hopefully we can go back to the park soon.  There should be more birdlife coming through now.  We always love the path through the wood before we get to the walkway across the marshy area. 

I have seen dozens of photographers on our visits, many with very large zooms, and they stay there for hours.  If you look closely you will see that he has two attached to his tripod.  This is the first time I have seen that set-up.

I would have loved to have seen his photos, and wondered if he had a gallery somewhere.  He was on the phone though and I certainly wasn't going to disturb him.

There were lots of families around. Maybe his was walking elsewhere while he took his photos.  We try not to go on a weekend, but when we do it is nice to see families enjoying themselves. 

I could be mistaken but the water seemed lower than on our last visit.  We wondered if the beavers had been working on this old, multi-branched stump sticking out of the water.  Always looking for signs of beaver we saw none today.  They are more active if you are here early morning or later in the afternoon.  More on them at the end of my post.

I enjoyed seeing all the turtles on the logs.  There were dozens sighted.  I believe these are Painted Turtles.  At times we have seen Snapping Turtles, some very large, but not today.

If you go here you can see more photos and information about Huntley Meadows.

Here are more photos of the birds we saw.  The one below is a female Northern Shoveler, mentioned in my previous post...

and her mate.

We also saw a few American Coots.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were swimming in and out of the reeds.  Their heads disappeared often.

Always enjoyable to watch but I eventually left them in peace.

We are almost at the end of the walkway.  The mound in my photo below these illustrations (found on line) is a beaver lodge.  

The one we always see right off the walkway has been here for as long as we have been coming to the park, about 30 years.  It is amazing to me that they built so close to where the pathway is well traveled.

There is another interesting website at this link, an illustration and more information about the beaver.

We watched it get even bigger and at one time this seat was almost covered.  It is one where we sit and look at the wildlife.  There is another pond to the left of this photo, and also a beaver dam.  We have seen the pond rise and fall depending on how busy they have been.  The park people let nature take its course more often than not, but I see the seat has been slowly cleared.  The lodge, however, has basically been left alone.

At this link it will tell you more about the beaver.

Eventually it was time to leave and we made our way back through the wood.  If you look up at that tree trunk there are fresh holes made by woodpeckers, getting ready for nesting I'm assuming.  

Gregg also enjoys taking photos and many of these in my two posts are his, like this interesting dried plant.  

I also saw that these tiny flowers called Spring Beauty were growing everywhere.  Good signs of Spring!

That's it for now until our next visit.  If you want to look at other posts I have done on the park, you can find the link underneath this post.

Have a great day and thanks for taking a look.  I hope you have enjoyed Huntley Meadows, and will get a chance to visit the park yourself one of these days.  If not I am very happy to share it virtually.