Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Fulica

This photo was taken on 16 August 2014, SE of Calgary, near Frank Lake. I ended up being out all day, spending three hours in the morning birding with a group of friends at Carburn Park in the city. It's the time of year when the various tiny Warblers are passing through the city again. Then, flickr/birder/photography friend, Pam, asked if I wanted to go SE of the city to the Frank Lake area. We had a fun afternoon, with a few reasonable bird sightings. The clouds were amazing, though somehow I didn't manage to get any good photos of them. Seeing them reflected in the lake was perhaps the best place. There were several Coots and their growing youngsters at the lake - this adult climbed on to these broken Cattail (?) stems, so you can see the size of their huge, lobed feet. Spotted a Mourning Dove along one of the backroads. I don't remember ever seeing a Mourning Dove perched on a fence post before - usually, they are perched on a very high wire when I see them. Thanks, Pam, for suggesting a drive to one of my favourite areas!

Will have to post and more or less run this morning. Last night, I set two alarm clocks (one set very loud), for 5:45 a.m., but I slept right through an hour of very loud music and then woke up nearly five hours later! As a result, I have missed a trip to a great place - one that I don't like going to on my own. Knowing that there will be other people there today, I think I will still go, but not very far into the forest on my own. Hopefully, the others will scare any Bears and Cougars out of the forest and not in my direction! To say that I could kick myself is to put it mildly, ha! I always have to smile when I see a baby Coot, especially when they are younger than this one and still have the few orange feathers around the head. This year, I just never got anywhere where I could see babies reasonably close. When I first spotted this little one, at first I thought I had found a young Sora. After a split second of disappointment, I tried to catch this little Coot out in the open before it disappeared yet again behind green Cattail stalks. Most of my attempts need deleting, but a couple came out OK. I think a young Coot is called a Cootie.

Usually, these Coots just keep swimming, but this one paused just long enough for me to get a reasonably sharp shot. Taken in SW Calgary on 1 May 2014. "Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American Coots belong to a distinct order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers or rafts. The oldest known coot lived to be 22 years old." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_coot/id

Lol, my title is a good example of why they say that English is the hardest language to learn! Not a great photo, but l like that it shows the lobed, not webbed, foot of this water bird (which is not a species of duck!). Taken on 17 May 2013 in SW Calgary. "Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American Coots belong to a distinct order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers or rafts. The oldest known coot lived to be 22 years old." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot allaboutbirds.org/guide/AD_IMAGES/square-warbler.png?foo=... -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Decided I would post my photos late tonight - well, it's 1:00 a.m. - as I will be out at friend Doug's Memorial tomorrow and I know I won't feel like uploading photos afterwards. Took this photo of these adorable baby Coots on 21st June 2011, at a wetland down in the SW of the city.