Here is a series of photographs recently taken of two American Coots as they were swimming and feeding on a sunny day. The lovely weather permitted me to snap off some shots while they eagerly dived for food. Watch how one bird gets a sense of the snack it wants, some delicious aquatic vegetation, circling with its head facing downward. They must have some sensational, well-tuned sight to be able to see so well down through the water column.
Once it decides what to grab…down it goes in a splash!
The other bird, having followed the first nearly the entire time, circling in the same pattern and monitoring this dive, decides to go down, too.
That was fast! You can see how they take a bit of a leap before the dive. The first bird did come up with a few bites, gulping them down while the second looked on and swam after it. Oh well…
The two birds below are the successfully feeding bird on the left and a third individual coming in from the right with an odd expression and posture. I don’t know if it was thinking about theft, feeling jealous, paying respects, or being playful…
…but it certainly is entertaining to watch mini bird soap operas play out in front of you. If you are near us at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York or elsewhere in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region then Chautauqua Lake is a good place to find American Coots as long as the water is unfrozen.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
