{"id":115047,"date":"2023-08-07T03:55:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T09:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=115047"},"modified":"2023-08-07T03:55:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T09:55:08","slug":"teen-aged-american-coot-with-swirly-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/07\/teen-aged-american-coot-with-swirly-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen-aged American Coot With Swirly Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning, I went for a walk around my local pond. One of the birds I photographed was this teen-aged American Coot with swirly reflections around it.<\/p>\n

\"Teen-agedTeen-aged American Coot in August \u2013 Nikon D500, handheld, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 2500, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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I kind of missed out on spring migration, nesting season, and baby birds in Utah this year. That is okay. And really, I’m not complaining, just stating the facts. I was where I needed to be to help my mom transition, and it was my honor to assist her. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.<\/p>\n

I did miss out on seeing tiny American Coot<\/span><\/a> chicks this breeding season. Some people call them ugly, and truthfully, they are kind of strange-looking when they are young. On my walk yesterday, I was delighted to come across about a dozen teen-aged or immature American Coots at my local pond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When I arrived at the pond, it was bright and sunny. However, as I walked around it looking for birds, fluffy white clouds moved in front of the sun. Those fluffy white clouds created interesting and appealing swirly reflections on the water. When this young American Coot swam past me I knew I was going to love those swirly blue and white reflections in my photos of the coot.<\/p>\n

This American Coot is at an age where some people might have trouble identifying it because it doesn’t have the dark-ringed, ivory-colored bill and red eyes of adult coots. However, looking at the body and bill shape, especially in Utah where there aren’t any Common Gallinules, should help even a novice birder with the correct identity. Of course, noticing the presence of big, lobed feet, which can’t be seen in this image, would help too.<\/p>\n

I took quite a few images of young birds yesterday before those fluffy white clouds I mentioned earlier blotted out the morning light. It was a good walk, and I’m glad I went. I needed it, the birds I saw, and the fresh air.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my American Coot photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning, I went for a walk around my local pond. One of the birds I photographed was this teen-aged American Coot with swirly reflections around it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,27,709,26],"tags":[4010,4101,2772,2773,4121,4067,1984,958,2315,14250,8018,3996,4193],"class_list":["post-115047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-avian","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-american-coot","tag-clouds","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-fulica-americana","tag-immature","tag-pond","tag-reflections","tag-summer-3","tag-teen-aged","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-teenager-and-fun-sky-reflections-mia-mcpherson-6757.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tVB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":135383,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/08\/american-coot-and-concentric-ripples-in-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":115047,"position":0},"title":"American Coot And Concentric Ripples In Water","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing an American Coot photo I took last year in Utah. 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I'd been hoping to find a leucistic coot for quite a long time.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Unusual leucistic American Coot, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-coot-leucistic-mia-mcpherson-2911.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-coot-leucistic-mia-mcpherson-2911.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-coot-leucistic-mia-mcpherson-2911.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-coot-leucistic-mia-mcpherson-2911.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120837,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/11\/urban-american-coot-close-up-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":115047,"position":3},"title":"Urban American Coot Close Up Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Because it was a bright, sunny day yesterday morning, I went down to my local ponds. I photographed an American Coot munching on frosty grass near one of them.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban American Coot in winter, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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