{"id":17041,"date":"2014-11-15T06:24:22","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T13:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=17041"},"modified":"2025-10-05T15:00:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T20:00:19","slug":"an-american-coot-munching-on-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/15\/an-american-coot-munching-on-food\/","title":{"rendered":"An American Coot Munching On Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAn American Coot munching on food – Nikon D200, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 350mm, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

As winter makes its approach here in northern Utah I tend to get excited about the raptors I will see but I try not to forget the common birds I see almost every time I go shooting.<\/p>\n

American Coots are abundant birds and some folks might find them fairly plain but I like them and enjoy photographing them too.<\/p>\n

There is a pond near where I live that in the winter and early spring can be a great place to spend an hour or two photographing ducks, grackles, grebes, songbirds, and the almost always present American Coots.<\/p>\n

As long as there is open water there will be birds at the pond. This American Coot image was taken during the winter of 2009, my first official winter as a resident of Utah at that pond.<\/p>\n

Because there are many fisherman and people who walk around the pond the birds are acclimated to human presence and will come close if you have the patience to wait for them.<\/p>\n

Photographing coots is challenging because of the high contrast between their black plumage and that ivory white bill but I enjoy the challenges.<\/p>\n

I’m able to set my tripod down low at the pond and sit on the ground behind the camera to photograph them at the pond even when there is snow on the ground.<\/p>\n

So go ahead Old Man Winter, bring it on! I’ll meet you at the pond to photograph these old coots. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\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":"

American Coots are common birds and some folks might find them fairly plain but I like them and enjoy photographing them too. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[137,27,709,26],"tags":[4004,4010,970,2772,2773,4286,4620,1130,4121,4588,2759,10698,8018,3996],"class_list":["post-17041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-avian","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-coot","tag-autumn","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-eating","tag-fall","tag-food","tag-fulica-americana","tag-gruiformes","tag-munching","tag-park","tag-urban","tag-water"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-coot-eating-mia-mcpherson-6359.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4qR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":120837,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/11\/urban-american-coot-close-up-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":17041,"position":0},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115372,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/24\/baby-american-coot-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":17041,"position":1},"title":"Baby American Coot Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, I spent some time taking photos of baby American Coots not far from where I live. It does seem late in the summer for coot chicks.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Baby American Coot in Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/american-coot-tranquil-pond-mia-mcpherson-5637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/american-coot-tranquil-pond-mia-mcpherson-5637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/american-coot-tranquil-pond-mia-mcpherson-5637.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/american-coot-tranquil-pond-mia-mcpherson-5637.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141796,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/20\/american-coots-on-lower-scarborough-slough\/","url_meta":{"origin":17041,"position":3},"title":"American Coots On Lower Scarborough Slough","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Lately, I\u2019ve been seeing hundreds of American Coots at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, and a few days ago, I photographed some on Lower Scarborough Slough.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An American Coot floats on silky deep-to-light blue water, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-coot-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-8580.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-coot-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-8580.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-coot-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-8580.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-coot-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-8580.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108197,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/23\/american-coot-and-funky-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":17041,"position":4},"title":"American Coot And Funky Reflection","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent about 45 minutes at my local pond yesterday afternoon and one of my favorite images from being there was this American Coot with a funky reflection.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Coot reflection, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":117565,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/28\/three-american-coots-side-by-side\/","url_meta":{"origin":17041,"position":5},"title":"Three American Coots Side By Side","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"What's better than having one coot in my viewfinder? I'd say having three American Coots side by side in my viewfinder at one 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":"Three American Coots in autumn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/american-coot-trio-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5457.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/american-coot-trio-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5457.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/american-coot-trio-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5457.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/american-coot-trio-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5457.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}