Glen Grambo: June was a rainy month and for the first time in years, many of the prairie marshes are full … of both water and babies! American coots are wonderful birds, and this coot parent was paying very close attention to her baby as it explored its marsh home!🪶

June was a rainy month and for the first time in years, many of the prairie marshes are full … of both water and babies! American coots are wonderful birds, and this coot parent was paying very close attention to her baby as it explored its marsh home!🪶

So much of this makes me smile. The adorable, hilarious baby, the attentive parent and the fact that you’ve got water and the habitat they need this year!

Thank you! The moisture we had this spring has been such a gift! Wed still take more, but it’s been so wonderful for our marshes and their residents!

Baby coots are the epitome of one of my late mother's favourite expressions: "So ugly it's cute". She loved little weird looking critters & passed that love onto us

She sounds wonderful and I agree with her. They are beautiful little babies!

i guess the bright orange heads make them easier for the parents to spot if they wander off?

I’m not sure, but that makes sense! Those babies are also surprisingly hard to spot when they are in the reeds.

That's wonderful Glen! So pleased to hear all the marshes are full of water, what a joy.

It’s been such a great spring for that! One of my favourite marshes dried up about 4 years ago and I’ve yet to make it there to check it out. I’m hopeful it has some in it again.

Fingers crossed! Was it a fave because of the light angle or lots of birds ...?

🤞 yes to both. There were large spruce trees around for nice dark backgrounds and nice shorelines for waders. Also, almost no one went there🤣

The lack of humans would make it the top of my list! Shorelines are perfect, if the water level is right (as you said already) and there are actually birds on them! Dark backgrounds are tough to find here, so much sun.

I just got back from there now as I went after work. There is some water in parts of it again! But lots of vegetation that has grown up the last few years so no great shorelines but it’s shallow! Dowitchers, phalaropes etc so it was fun!

Great shot. Had so much fun on the weekend doing a prairie pothole tour. Water!

Thanks Janet! I bet it was fun touring all the full marshes! It was such a great June for moisture and so unexpected!

They're called poule d'eau in Louisiana, water chicken.

That’s a good name!

Great photo 👏🏻 Coots are so fun to observe. Several years ago, we saw (& heard 🤭) a family in Cranberry Marsh, near Whitby ON. It was wonderful to watch them over the course of the summer.

That’s wonderful! They are such cool birds and full of character!

These used to swim by on the lake that my undergrad was next to. I was fascinated by them.

What a wonderful memory! They make such cute sounds!

Post