Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
February 23, 2022
A Small Raft of Coots
Tag Archives: Gruiforme
Coots on the Run
American Coots run and flap to get airborne in an splashy display.
Sometimes they are just relocating, as they did in this case, to get away from the edge where I was walking.
They quickly settled down into another small group further out in the pond.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
February 23, 2022
King Rail and Chick
Cornell’s Merlin App has identified this as a King Rail, a member of the Rallidae Family, along with other Rails, Gallinules, and Coots.
Both the handsome adult and the distinctive all-black chick were new to me. I watched them for ten minutes and the adult kept this posture, perhaps a cooling mechanism on a hot August day, while the chick tottered around in the grass.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, Green Pond, SC
August 8, 2021
Got Feet?
Common Gallinules are in the Rail family, and have feet more like a chicken than a duck.
These juveniles looked a bit awkward when they were resting, with their feet having grown faster than the rest of their bodies.
They had no trouble getting around; I saw them walking through some grass.
And then into shallow water.
June 8, 2021
3 Coots
I had hopes that these three American Coots would synchronize their swimming direction or angle for a portrait composition.
They circled, they zigged and zagged, they separated and came back together, but an organized group shot was not to be.
Eventually they did all turn their heads in the same direction, almost.
Sandhill Crane
Ted and I returned to Florida for five days at the end of February and went to most of the same places I photographed in late January. On my first trip I heard Sandhill Cranes calling at Vierra Wetlands but never saw them. I was delighted to see a pair on the second trip.
When we first saw the pair they were calling repeatedly and appeared to be looking for something. Unfortunately there was nothing nearby to include in the image to indicate their size. Sandhill Cranes are larger than Great Blue Herons, and can weight up to 10 pounds (4.75 KG). Great Blues top out at 5.5 pounds (2.5 KG).
We looped around the wildlife drive and about an hour later found them in about the same spot. They had stopped calling and their attention had turned to preening.
Click on any image for larger view.
Vierra Wetlands, Florida, 2/21/18.