Trego's Mountain Ear

There are six hatchling coots swimming in the pond with their parents. Usually two or three survivors is the norm, basically because, in general, coots are really bad at parenting. This year, the parents have stayed together and worked at raising the little birds.

A coot doesn’t quack like a duck – but it swims like a duck. They have a heck of a time getting airborne – and they lack webbed feet. This picture, from the National Park Service, shows why a coot isn’t a duck:

While we are close enough to photograph the coots in the pond, getting a picture that shows the feet is just about impossible. Usually only two or three of the little guys survive – but this year there are six getting close to flying stage.

Learning to take off is a challenge to the young coot – as they begin to get airborne, they have to add to their speed by running across the water:

We have a single goose with two goslings that have stayed on the pond rather than taking off to develop into the larger flocks that will be heading south in another month or so. The eagle took the gander, and the single goose doesn’t seem ready to take her surviving goslings from the pond to the next life step.