A Coot's supper...

William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation.

​Revelation 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sunshine, shouting loudly to the birds, “Come! Gather together for the supper of the Great God!

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond with marsh grasses eating a dead bream fish. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

​Friday, 7:45 AM-I made my morning drive around back to count the Redhead Ducks on the shelter pond. On the first pass I only saw eight. But on my way out there were 16! Half we’re underwater on my first drive-by!
 
At the northern point of the main pond, I saw a fast walking “duck” mixed in with the resident Mallards. Something different here… an American Coot! I spent 15 minutes shooting from my truck and filling an SD card. (Filling an SD card is so much better than the high cost days of shooting off several rolls of film!)

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

​Going back out at 10:30 AM, the Coot was right outside the shelter back door tearing up a dead bream fish. This bird must have come from an area where it was accustomed to seeing people. It allowed me to approach so closely; I scooted up on my but until I was only 25 - 30 feet away. I fired off another several gigabytes of photos and scored some great shots of the dead fish in its mouth.

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond with marsh grasses eating a dead bream fish. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

​Coots are goofy looking birds - like a cross between a duck and a chicken. Several of my coworkers, having spotted this strange bird, came into my office saying, “there’s a weird looking duck with the pointy white bill on the back pond.“
 
I have seen many of these birds on the marshes along coastal Georgia. But it was in November, 2012 that I last saw a Coot visit the shelter pond.

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond with marsh grasses eating a dead bream fish. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

American Coot, Fulica Americana, a duck like marsh bird fishing on pond. The American Coot is a plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Common in marshes, reservoirs, lake edges, saltwater inlets or saltmarshes. Photographed on birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

​Walton County, Georgia
Mostly sunny, high 49°
Sunrise 7:29 AM, sunset 6:05 PM
Day length: 10 hours, 35 minutes
Moon: waning gibbous, 95% illumination