- Occasionally I rerun a favorite older post and this one is more recent than most. It’s only 3 years old but until last night I hadn’t seen it since then and I really enjoyed reliving the antics of this hilarious coot as it was slip-sliding on the ice so I thought my readers would too. For this version I’ve edited the text and cleaned up some of the formatting. All images are presented in the order they were taken.
The huge, goofy-looking feet of coots aren’t made to run on anything, least of all incredibly slick ice.
Yesterday I spent some time photographing birds at a pond near my home. Most of the pond was frozen but there were two areas of open water separated from each other by about 40 yards of ice and most of the birds were concentrated in the two patches of open water. The intimidating ice between the two areas of open water was the setup for a highly amusing American Coot determined to move from one patch of water to the other.
Coots apparently feel vulnerable to predators when they’re on the ice (presumably because they can’t dive to escape) so when this one felt the need to move to the patch of water closest to me it attempted to run as fast as it could across the ice to reach it. The sun had come out and it had warmed the ice just enough that there was a thin layer of water on top so the ice was incredibly slick.
I first noticed “him” after he had left the water further away and was already scrambling to reach the open water directly in front of me. Typically coots don’t use their wings when they’re running but every time his feet would slip out from under him on the slippery ice his wings would come out for stability.
As you’re about to see, that happened often.
Time and time again his legs went their own way and he’d have to try to recover with his wings (keep in mind he’s running fast, or attempting to, the entire time).
Those silly-looking and very long lobed toes certainly didn’t make his task any easier.
It often seemed like his feet were determined to go in a completely different direction than the rest of him.
Occasionally he’d make a few steps without slipping and that gave him enough confidence to fold his wings and attempt to run normally.
But his feet and legs had a mind of their own so he was usually trying to…
recover his balance.
One foot or the other always seemed to be going its own way. If this doesn’t look like a speed-skating posture I’ve never seen one.
Here he’s slowed down slightly because he’s approaching the water’s edge which was thickly packed with gulls and other birds and he was obviously starting to think about picking a spot where he could squeeze between them and get safely back into the water.
But even at that slower speed he couldn’t keep his feet beneath him as he tried to change direction slightly.
Here he’s picked a spot between the two gulls at the bottom of the frame in order to access the water.
But he was still running fairly fast so…
his feet continued to be uncooperative.
He definitely wasn’t having any fun but I give him a perfect 10 for his crossover technique.
But eventually he did reach the water’s edge (seen at lower left).
I can only imagine his sense of relief as he stopped running, folded his wings and plopped into the safety of the water.
I took 92 images of the coot as he was slip-sliding across the ice and I was laughing so hard the entire time I’m amazed any of them are sharp. Other than this bird I was pretty much skunked on the pond so a little comic relief was welcome entertainment.
Ron
Note: Apologies for not providing image techs but with this many photos it was just too much work, especially since I enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in on Christmas Eve morning.
Oh thank-you, Ron. All I am getting this year is an infestation of bed bugs, so this definitely lightened my humour.
Yikes, I wish you luck with them, Jane!
Love it 😁 I’m thinking that’s what I looked like when I fell in July‼️
Merry Christmas Ron
Thank you, Diana.
Ron, what a wonderful series on a dreary day. The feet on that Coot are something else. I would think that it even has a hard time to run on dry land. However, from what you describe, the Coot is a water bird. Thank you and have a wonderful Christmas.
Exactly, those feet aren’t made for running anywhere. Thanks, Alice.
Loved this series. Coots feet are so unusual anyway. Thanks. I think the “cross-over is my fave!
Thanks, Linda. I like that shot very much too,
What a TERRIFIC series and yes, I laughed out loud…hard! There will probably be a Karmic debt to pay about that. I love your photography SO much!!
And yes, I KNOW they laugh at us. When I fell in the creek in Wyoming in January, I SWEAR Mariah pointed a wing and guffawed! I could also hear, “Sucks to be you” before she used those marvelous wings and took off to another perch!
As I said to EC, all of us wingless critters would have face planted, maybe excepting real speed skaters! Wings are really useful when you’ve only got the two legs. Add in gravity and we humans are pretty darn pitiful! But we also have to bear in mind that there’s just no reasoning with ice! It will have its way 🙂
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Whatever you celebrate! Be peaceful, serene and deliriously happy!
Laura, I well remember some of my falls on ice. If the same thing happened at my age now I’d be toast.
Those feet lol. Poor Coot. Glad he made it to the shore safely. I enjoy the look on the Gulls face. The pics make my afternoon. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all!
Thank you, Jean.
Thanks for the enjoyable rerun of this series! I’m sure if the coot had it to do over it would be just as funny, even with a slightly improved technique. I’ve never seen W.C Fields on skates, but I can imagine, the barrelled chest and bandied legs. Thinking of you laughing while taking the pictures of the coot definitely made me laugh! Have a great holiday season with best wishes.
“W.C. Fields on skates” is perfect, Robert. I don’t often laugh out loud (literally) when I have a bird in my viewfinder but this was one of those times.
Yes, I smiled, but I was also filled with awe. In similar circumstances I would have face planted. Repeatedly (always assuming I got up again).
Christmas has arrived here (not dawned yet but arrived). I wish you and your readers the very happiest of holidays.
EC, this coot never landed planted his face but he planted just about everything else!
EC all of us wingless creatures would have face planted. Wings are GOOD things if you only have the two legs and there’s NEVER any reasoning with ice! Happiest of holidays back to you!!
Delightful series, do you think birds watch our blunders and laugh? Happy Holidays and thank you for your informative, beautiful blog posts.
“do you think birds watch our blunders and laugh”
I’ve seen proof that they do, April. I swear I can hear them laughing every time I screw up my shots of them. And that happens regularly…
To paraphrase the old joke: Why did the Coot cross the ice? To get to the other side and make us laugh like hell doing it.
If this was the Coot figure skating olympics I’d give him 10.0’s for spunk and goofiness.
Thanks for a great start to the day, Ron.
Glad you enjoyed the ride. Thanks, Lyle.
I remember this post — and laughed just as hard at the rerun! 😀 Poor Coot! Some of the shots definitely remind me of speed skaters and others make me think of figure skating. And I giggle just as hard over how oblivious the gulls in the foreground seem until he’s right there.
I will say that he is MUCH more graceful on the ice than I have ever been, even after 5 icy winters in central Illinois. (I won’t try to describe any of my disastrous attempts at ice skating — more like ice tushing, as I never spent more than about 10 seconds upright unless I was grabbing onto the wall of the rink.)
Hope you get a break in the clouds today to at least be able to go to your local pond and see if he’s gotten any better and maneuvering. 😉
That should read “better AT maneuvering.” Apparently, I type just as proficiently as I ice skate.
“Ice tushing” – love it, Marty. Those skates are slick on ice, aren’t they!
I did get out for a while this morning but there was only patchy light and very few birds.
Thanks for the pictures. Does make you laugh a lot. You and family have a Merry Christmas and sleep in if you want too!
Thanks very much, Trudy.
Dudley, The best thing I did this year was subscribe to your page. You are not only an amazing photographer but a skilled and knowledgeable teacher. I am learning so much from your posts. Thanks for allowing me to view your work and learn from the master. Above all I am jealous that you get to roam around doing what you love and be neck deep in nature. Thanks again for sharing.
Great to hear from you Doug. And thank you for the very kind words, deserved or not.
We had some great times at Highland High, didn’t we. I still miss the kids and some of you guys although not many teachers I knew are still there. Are you still teaching? At Highland?
Great post! Merry Christmas, Ron. What a chuckle it gave me.
Thank you, Cindy.
Thank you for the good laugh.
Happy Holidays to you Ron.
Thank you, Jorge. I hope you have a wonderful holiday in Portugal.
Too funny Ron. Love the last two where he seems to be saying, “I made it – I knew I could do it” We all appreciate what funny birds they are just walking around on the ground, but on ice they become the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers. 🙂 That fourth photo with the wings spread really looks like he is skating instead of just trying to stay upright. Wishing you and all your followers a very Merry Christmas.
“that fourth photo with the wings spread really looks like he is skating”
I keep wanting to call him Apolo Ohno. Thank you, Everett.
What a glorious, hilarious way to start the morning. It reminds me of my experiences with my first pair of single-blade skates — except the coot was more graceful!
I had some of those same experiences on ice skates when I was a kid. Makes me cold (and sore) just to think about it.
Hilarious way to start the morning! 🙂 Definitely NOT amusing for the Coot BUT! Don’t know how you held the camera still for this series! 😉 Has some amazing skating “technique” in places…. 🙂 Excellent choice for X-Mas Eve morning…..
Judy, this was one of the few times I wish I had documentary video. If I had that clip I’d probably watch it hundreds of times each year, especially whenever I needed cheering up.
That would be a hoot! 🙂 We skated as kids including trying to play hockey with figure skates – toe picks are NOT useful for that and had many bumps and bruises to show for it!….. 🙁
He looks like an Olympic speed skater! I love this series!
He sure does. Thanks, Shelley.
“I think I can, I think I can’, I know I can!” Determination is quite evident as his pupils were directed at the prize through all the photos! I love the third from last photo as he mimics the speedster with his excellent cross-over technique…excellent start for our day today! Thank you…
“Determination is quite evident”
He definitely had his eye on the prize the entire time. Thanks, Kathy.
What a wonderful sequence. Made me laugh and laugh. Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful comedy of nature with us!
“Made me laugh and laugh.”
Perfect. That was my intention, partly because it has the same affect on me. Thanks, Rick.