And when it happened I got lucky.
Two days ago I spent part of the morning photographing ducks from my tripod in freezing temperatures. But as usual there were American Coots in the mix and I never ignore them completely, in part because their pugnacious nature very often provides opportunities for some fun action/fighting shots. It helps to be familiar with their behaviors so you can anticipate their skirmishes because they usually happen so fast it’s all over before you can get your lens on them.
But if you miss one opportunity you’re likely to have another, and soon. The American Coot is universally described as being a “quarrelsome and belligerent bird”. So they just can’t help themselves and that’s to the photographer’s advantage.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
When you see a coot in this threat posture, with its head lowered and its neck extended across the water’s surface, there’s a very good chance that an attack is about to occur. Be ready for it.
But even if you have your lens on them when it begins a lot of other things have to come together for success, chief among them getting both fighting birds in the frame. More often than not both birds will be scampering away from you so all you get is butt shots. And then there’s the potential double kibosh of shutter speed and depth of field. I prefer a minimum SS of 1/2500 but when it comes to having sufficient DOF for two or more aggressive or fighting birds you’re usually at the mercy of chance and the fickle gods of photography
But sometimes we get lucky.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
And I did later that morning.
I noticed the bird on the left in the classic threat posture and I got ‘him’ in my viewfinder just before he attacked the coot he’d been threatening. I was at about the right distance from the birds to get them both in frame and I had the SS to get them both sharp, or sharp enough. My luck continued when the pursuit occurred mostly laterally to me rather than away from me. We can even see the red eyes of both birds. The syrup on the pancake was when the pursued coot looked over its shoulder at its pursuer with its beak open and a terrified look on its face.
As I look at this photo I can hear the panicked squawking of the coot on the right in my head.
In situations like this the best photo I usually get, if I get a ‘good’ one at all, includes only a single bird and the water splash of the other one. This isn’t what I’d call a “great shot” (an overused descriptor if you ask me) but I think it’s a pretty darn good one and it’s interesting and fun to see so I was more than happy to get it.
Ron
“Quarrelsome and belligerent” — must be why I like these lobe-toed weirdos so much! I do feel bad for the victim in this case. He truly looks scared. I hope he’s OK.
This is a great (overused or not) action shot, Ron!
I’m glad you like it, Marty. I can assure you, he escaped to flee another day.
Whew! That’s the “gin on the tonic” or “ice in the bourbon” for me. 😉
I love watching coot and pied grebe fights. Fast and furious.
Yup.
Kudos for capturing both Coots in the frame. Of course in your case “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.
That must be a “threat posture” because it sucks as an attempt at stealth, but I concur that it appears to have scared the bejesus out of his quarry.
Lyle, it’s pretty hard to be stealthy when you’re both stuck on the surface of the water.
Yup, the bejesus obviously abandoned the pursued coot.
And now I know where the pejorative “old coot” (often with angry or nasty preceding it) comes from. The action shot is very vivid and makes me wonder, what did the one on the receiving end do to deserve such an attack? We’ll never know, but I hope the poor guy escaped with his life!
“what did the one on the receiving end do to deserve such an attack?
Chris, this time of year agonistic coot behavior usually results from disputes over feeding areas but very soon it’ll be over females and breeding rights.
Ron,
Nice tip about the posture when they are about to attack. I am surprised you were out of the truck and on a tripod. It doesn’t sound like your usual MO.
I also like the “syrup on the pancakes” phrase.
Stephen
Stephen, at that location in the morning I have no choice but to walk and shoot from my tripod because of light angle. It’s a different story in the late afternoon.
Reading through the comments the bird on the receiving end was right to look terrified.
I hope fervently that my day doesn’t include anyone in attack mode, despite thanking you for this early start to it.
EC, coot fights can be vicious, to the point that if someone asked me which species has the most serious fights most often, coots would be at the very top of my list.
Being as well prepared as you were gave you the best chance for sure. Well done!
Any shot that can elicit a response in the viewer is a damn good shot in my book so 👌 yeah, I’d say this is a great shot and when you add in the first behaviour threat shot with the explanation I’d give you a solid A at the very least and maybe even an A+. Well done and thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. Besides, it looks like great fun to watch.
Granny Pat, I always appreciate an A, deserved or not… 🙂
And yes, their skirmishes are great fun to watch. And to attempt to photograph.
Thank you, Bruce.
‘Syrup on the pancake’ – will be borrowing that one!
BTW ‘great photo’ 🤣🙂
Borrow away, Kathleen. I got tired of “icing on the cake” so I just made one up. It works for me.
WOW! Great capture of the action. 🙂 They can be nasty bastards for sure. 🙁 Didn’t realize HOW nasty until your quote from Cornell. GEEZ!
48 with wind this morning – Alberta Clipper on the way for tomorrow evening/night it sounds like.
Chinooks and Alberta Clippers – ahhh, the memories!
I don’t recall ever photographing them fighting, but I sure have seen it hundreds of times. We have so many coots that it is often very difficult to take photos of ducks or other shore birds etc without getting a coot in the picture. Thanks for the educational post.
Everett, when it comes to photobombing, coots take first prize – no question about it.
Wow, enlightening post with terrific illustration, thank you!
Thanks, Cheryl.
Funny shot 🙂 So what’s the worse that could happen to the “victim” if the coot has no teeth, no claws and can’t possibly sink?
Terri, sometimes, not often but sometimes, one of the fighting birds is injured or killed. If you’re the losing coot it doesn’t get much worse than that. Here’s what Cornell has to say on the matter:
“At end of fight, weaker bird often slowly forced onto its back as stronger bird attempts to hold it underwater and pluck its feathers. Losers often escape this onslaught by swimming off underwater, but determined combatants have been known to continue fighting even underwater. Physical confrontations may result in death of vanquished bird.”