Walking around the lake one day, I spotted the strangest looking bird.
It was swimming with the other ducks, trying to grab some pieces of bread
the kids were throwing out to feed them.

But, it didn't look like a duck. It was all black and the beak was all white,
and its toes were yellow/green, with little webs hanging off each toe.
Then, someone told me it was called a 'Coot'.
Here's the picture I took:


Here's the official picture, and a pic of his toes (wierd).




It made the funniest little noise, like a baby's squeaky toy.

Anyone else ever heard of these or seen them before?

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds...n_Coot_dtl.html

Yeah, we have them at White Rock Lake....where the quakers are!! They are seriously strange looking birds!

Yes, but kind of cute. A little smaller than the average duck, too.

Wonder what kind of pet they'd make? Just kidding!

We get them in huge numbers in central Washington, particularly wintering along the Columbia River. They form huge rafts sometimes numbering over 500 birds. American Wigeon and other ducks that don't dive for their food often associate with them and steal food that the coots bring to the surface to eat.

They are hunted quite readily in the southeastern states and some people consider them a delicacy.

Jeff

Hey I'll have you know ducks are excellent pets!

Anyways I'm going to have to make a trip up to this notorious white rock lake! I might not be very forthcoming about my visit, but slic if you notice a bunch of quakers and coots missing, then you know that I definitely havn't been there. I don't care if it happens right after I build a pond in my backyard and right before I post a pic of my 30 quaker outdoor aviary. I have NEVER been there.

We have Coot's here also, I love the sound they make, they are very aggresive birds for their size as well, and will defend and attack ANYTHING during the breeding season, at least they do here, have been known to kill ducklings/signets also.

Gail I've heard of a coot but never have seen one--thanks for the pictures....

Pretty bird indeed....

Now I wonder if that is a young coot or an old coot????? Is that what ppl are referring to when they call us OLD COOTS??/!!

have you seen their young? They have a bare head with red skin, and little yellowish looking feathers around their necks. Very freaky looking. They have a pretty interesting breeding behavior where they will most often lay more eggs than they could possibly raise, a kind of insurance policy, and when they decide they have too many hatchlings, they will basically beat them to death with their beaks. Sounds brutal, but it's necessary.

coot hatchling

I think I saw a young one yesterday. There are about a 75 ducks and only about 10 coots. It was way off from the rest of the flock, way smaller, like a baby, but all by itself. It would dive under the water, and come up a long time later, surprisingly long to stay under water. It was just too far away when it surfaced to tell. I really wanted to see one of those little red headed babies.

What you can't tell from the picture so much is how freaky they look, with that white beak and RED eyes. And, yes, the person who told me what it was, said it was a coot, you know, like an old coot.

Guess I should either take my binoculars or camera with me for my walks around the lake. They are just so fun to watch. You never know what will show up.

I have to agree with Julie, I have heard of them, but never have seen one. The only thing I remember about coots is when I was young kids would make fun of people saying they had the "cooties" never knew what it meant and still don't....LMBO