{"id":44150,"date":"2016-12-29T05:33:34","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T12:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=44150"},"modified":"2025-10-08T08:53:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T13:53:05","slug":"winter-american-coot-portrait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/29\/winter-american-coot-portrait\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter American Coot Portrait"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAmerican Coot portrait – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/500, ISO 320, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It isn’t often that I have an American Coot walk up so close to me that I can take portraits of them so as usual, I took the shots because I love portraits of my subjects when they can be taken in an ethical manner.<\/p>\n

Yesterday started off gloomy but it brightened up later in the day so a quick trip to the local pond was in order. It is close by, I can be there in a matter of minutes, and I feel like I can never know what interesting bird might show up.<\/p>\n

The slightly warmer weather had melted some of the ice on the pond and there was a spot of open water near the parking area.<\/p>\n

That is where the gulls, geese, ducks, and coots had gathered that was close enough to photograph birds from inside the relative warmth of a vehicle or as I like to call it, a mobile blind.<\/p>\n

When the birds settled back down on the pond this American Coot<\/span><\/a> walked up onto the shore with the open water behind it and I couldn’t resist taking portraits of it. It was almost too close to focus on but I did get some nice close ups of the coot.<\/p>\n

I like coots, I love their bright red eyes, their big, goofy looking feet, their dark plumage, and ivory-colored bills. What’s not to like?<\/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

By the way, I am super excited that President Obama designated two new National Monuments yesterday, Gold Butte in Nevada and Bears Ears right here in Utah. I was dancing for joy when I read Obama’s press release!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the birds settled back down on the pond this American Coot walked up onto the shore with the open water behind it and I couldn’t resist taking portraits of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":159480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,27,709,26],"tags":[4010,4142,2772,2773,4121,1984,4046,5582,8018,3996,5583,16369,373],"class_list":["post-44150","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-close-up","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-fulica-americana","tag-pond","tag-portrait","tag-red-eye","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-white-bill","tag-willow-pond-park","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9258.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bu6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55009,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/11\/16\/charging-american-coot-portrait-communicating-by-posture\/","url_meta":{"origin":44150,"position":0},"title":"Charging American Coot Portrait – Communicating By Posture","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this American Coot in February when parts of my local pond were frozen which caused a restriction in the space where the coots, ducks, geese and grebes could feed and there were many territorial squabbles to photograph.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Charging American Coot portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-attack-posture-mia-mcpherson-3218.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-attack-posture-mia-mcpherson-3218.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-attack-posture-mia-mcpherson-3218.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-attack-posture-mia-mcpherson-3218.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62047,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/14\/winter-american-coot-close-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":44150,"position":1},"title":"Winter American Coot Close Up","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"When the American Coots come close to me I am also able to take portraits of them that show their red eyes and their ivory colored bills with their reddish-brown frontal shields.","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 close up in low light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-close-up-low-light-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-close-up-low-light-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-close-up-low-light-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-close-up-low-light-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79531,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/02\/18\/winter-american-coot-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":44150,"position":2},"title":"Winter American Coot Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After an extremely snowy night and morning I was able to get out yesterday afternoon and take some wintry American Coot portraits close to home.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy American Coot portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3710.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3710.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3710.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-3710.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74904,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/26\/calling-american-coot-adult-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":44150,"position":3},"title":"Calling American Coot Adult Portrait","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This adult American Coot may look like it is screaming but in reality it is simply calling out because another bird got close to it next to the shoreline of a small pond.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling American Coot portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-calling-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-calling-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-calling-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-calling-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55836,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/28\/adult-american-coot-with-a-dirty-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":44150,"position":4},"title":"Adult American Coot With A Dirty Bill","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"An American Coot with a dirty bill wasn't shy at all when it climbed out of the pond close enough for me to take portraits of it.","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 with a dirty bill, Salt Lake County, 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two American Coot portraits that I took at my local pond two years ago. The snowy background on one and the gray in the other set off the coots.","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 with snowy background, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-coot-portrait-snowbank-mia-mcpherson-3734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-coot-portrait-snowbank-mia-mcpherson-3734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-coot-portrait-snowbank-mia-mcpherson-3734.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-coot-portrait-snowbank-mia-mcpherson-3734.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\/44150","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=44150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}