Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Scootin' Coots and Sinister Cowbirds

The weather is finally behaving now in Phoenix, and Sunday evening I walked around Steele Indian Park just to enjoy the temperate outdoors...and to see what'd arrived at the local pond. Unlike some of the other Phoenix parks such as Grenada and Papago, I've never seen anything unusual or uncommon and Steele Indian. There are usually a half-dozen Wigeon and Ring-necked Ducks, along with about a dozen Mallards and two dozen Coots throughout the winter. Unlike the other parks though, Steele Indian often hosts a flock (swarm) of Brown-headed Cowbirds.


This doesn't seem noteworthy on the face of it, but I must admit that I don't actually see Brown-headed Cowbirds that often. They're certainly not uncommon, but compared to the Grackles and Blackbirds their urban presence is relatively light. But like other icterids they can be sinister. They're brood parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in other bird's nests sometimes, and they have a mean streak in em' even within the flock. This plain and pleasant female here is about to be ambushed by the jealous neighbor rising up in the background, while a male looks on complacently.


But the real action of the day, the BIG action, came when a quartet of clumsy Coots decided to enter the pond in as ponderous a way as possible--much to my delight. It might be a mean streak in me, but I find great pleasure and chortling satisfaction in observing the awkward machinations of American Coots. They have the shape of Guinea Fowl, which is to say, like a football, with big clown shoes and plodding personalities. And every once in a while they'll build of a head of steam running across a pond just to attack some other Coot that seemed to be minding its own business.


The first pair of Coots cleared the ledge with confidence, even panache.


The second team were a bit more hesitant, and they kinda flubbed it.


So yeah, pretty exciting stuff. They may be grumpy ol' Coots by nature, but every once in a while they can still be spry.

14 comments:

  1. What a fun group of birds you have here:) The Coots have been all over the place....I mean LOTS of them. The Cowbirds are very interesting. And like Starlings they love to kick birds out of their nests:) But somehow if a Cowbird does it, I don't feel as bad. Starlings on the other hand....

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    1. Yeah, maybe it's cause the Cowbirds are more dainty or something.
      Some days I really like al the Coots, and sometimes I find their overwhelming fall and winter numbers to be kinda burdensome. When in the right mood, they're a lot of fun.

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    2. Well, Cowbirds are natives, and the Starlings are invasive. So, Cowbird parasitism seems ok, even natural.

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    3. Yes, Mia mentioned this as well (below). I agree that there's something less irritating about native bird parasitism than introduced, but I also don't exactly feel like since the parasitic or destructive species are native, they get a free pass. This is by no means an advocation for anything, just a gut feeling.

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  2. I love to photograph American Coots, they challenge me to get the exposure right plus they can be a lot of fun when they are running across the water after another Coot! I don't mind Cowbirds at all because they are a native species and i know that they are a threat to the species whose nests they paritisize but their range expansion is caused by humans.

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    1. Yes! The Coot scuttle is great; they really build up a head of steam running across the ponds.

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  3. Nice. Some of my favorite pics are of coots crash landing. They are as ungraceful as it gets.

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    1. Exactly! They're not as good at walking as other waders, nor as good at swimming and diving as ducks and cormorants or grebes, nor as good at flying as other waterfowl. And yet, somehow, these clumsy birds fill a niche, and are in some ways a more successful species than any of their other urban pond rivals.
      Respect to the Coot.

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  4. Great shots! I have always felt at a loss how to describe those feet. "Clown shoes" is exactly right!

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    1. Ha! I still don't know if I did em' justice, but it certainly is a challenge.
      They may win the award for 'Best Feet In The Animal Kingdom' but there are lots of other great feet out there.

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  5. Haha is that a coot bellyflop on the curb? Awesome. I think watching a coot fight was the most stressed I've ever been while birding (well, at least due to the birds and not other factors).

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    1. Yeah, I think that Coot was nervous about hitting the water with too much speed, so it decided to skid and slide off the curb and keep everything under control.

      Seeing the violence that Coots dispense onto each other is one of the more shocking natural experiences. They're merciless!

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  6. Coots always make me smile. I love the lighting in these shots.

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    1. Thanks Kathie. I've got a whole horde more of Coot shots from a more recent outing. They're not stunning, but they're a constant at all the AZ ponds in fall and winter, and they always make for fun observations.

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