Running A-Fowl with Coots

 

The photo above has over 100 birds in it!  I know – I counted them!  In fact, I was smack dab in the middle of them – Running A-Fowl with Coots!

A couple of weekends ago, Charlie and I went to Lake Poway Recreation Area.  Late in the afternoon on a Sunday, the sun was just starting to set behind the surrounding mountains and the sky reflected a shimmering glow on the lake.  Peaceful and quiet, the park had very few visitors on that day, so a picture-taking opportunity was at a premium.  Check out my earlier post, Lake Poway Recreation Area, for more photos of this beautiful lake and park.

The main parking and picnic areas are perched high on a hill overlooking the lake and I wanted to get closer to the lake.  So, with camera in hand, I walked down to the main office building (where fishing permits are purchased, along with snacks, etc.), so that I could walk the path beside the lake.

But, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a gaggle of geese (actually, only one goose!), a bunch of ducks and a mob of black duck-like birds I’d never seen before.  These birds were all swarming around a handicapped man, feeding them bread crumbs from his bag of goodies!  They were in hog-heaven (or is that bird-heaven?), raucously honking, quacking and asserting their presence!  Each did not want to be overlooked!

 

 

 

Thinking my camera might be food, they swarmed me too…

 

 

 

 

They each sought their way forward, waiting for their treats…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even small little birds, unafraid, were patiently waiting for their bits of crumbs…

 

 

 

And, close enough that I didn’t need to use my bigger telephoto lens (didn’t have it with me, anyway!).

 

 

While they were swarming us (me and the man feeding them), I asked the man if he knew what the black duck-like birds were.  No; he didn’t.  I looked down expecting to see webbed feet like a duck or goose and instead, saw these…

 

 

Multiple shades of green, they looked like leaves – camouflaged bird feet!  When the man ran out of food, some nestled down in the sand…

 

 

And others just walked away…

 

 

And headed back to the lake for a swim…

 

 

 

 

 

Baffled about what these black “ducks” were, when I got home, I attempted an internet search.  Couldn’t find a picture of them anywhere!  So, I did the next best thing – I picked up the phone and called the Park Ranger at Lake Poway Recreation Area and he told me they weren’t ducks (no wonder I couldn’t find them when I searched “black ducks”), but American Coots!

 

 

 

 

I wrote this little ditty for you about American Coots.  It’s a play on the song “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” from the musical, Oklahoma, originally written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in 1943.  So, run that tune through your head as you read these words…

 

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry

When American Coots are in a hurry

Because when American Coots are in a hurry, they don’t stop!

Watch those Coots and see how they flutter

When they lift their feet in a high-steppin’ strutter

Geese and ducks weave and dart as they sputter and their eyes go pop!

Their feet are green, their eyes are red

Their body’s genuine black feathers.

With safety in numbers and large rafts runnin’ ahead

In case there’s a change in the weather!

Two bright red eyes winkin’ and blinkin’

Ain’t no finer bird I’m a thinkin’

You can keep yer turkey if yer thinkin’ that I’d keer to swap

Fer that shiny little Coot with the green feet that go clop!

 

Now, you’ll go crazy {grin} with that tune running through your head all day (even if you don’t remember the words!)…

 

 

For more about American Coots, here’s a link to Wikipedia:  American Coots on Wikipedia.  And, the next time you are at Lake Poway Recreation Area, take a big bag of bread ends and pieces and feed the American Coots.  Or, you can buy feed in the store at Lake Poway if you forget {grin}…

Tootles,

 

Related Posts:

(other posts about San Diego)

• 42 San Diego Museums, 28 Days and Half Off
• 42 San Diego Restaurants to Savor
• 42 Things to Do in San Diego
• 42 Things to Do at the San Diego Zoo
• Lake Poway Recreation Area
• San Diego Restaurants:  Our Favorite Places to Eat