{"id":46947,"date":"2017-05-27T04:14:11","date_gmt":"2017-05-27T10:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=46947"},"modified":"2025-05-23T09:58:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T14:58:32","slug":"american-coot-chick-and-adult-at-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/27\/american-coot-chick-and-adult-at-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"American Coot Chick and Adult at Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAmerican Coot chick at Bear River MBR – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 400, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of days ago I photographed my first American Coot chicks of the season while on the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a>. People usually think of American Coot chicks as either cute or ugly, I’m in the cute camp when it comes to these chicks. Maybe not cuddly cute like a Great Horned Owl chick or sweet and cute like a tiny shorebird chick, but cute all the same.<\/p>\n

They don’t look like the adult coots much but it doesn’t take them long to resemble the adults. The coot chicks have straggly feathers near their heads and on their chests and their bills are orange colored instead of ivory and their eyes are dark instead of red.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Coot standing on one leg at Bear River MBR – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/500, ISO 250, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw quite a few American Coot chicks at Bear River the other day and they usually had adults nearby. Not all of them were withing range of my 500mm lens but the few I was able to photograph delighted me.<\/p>\n

I love coots. I think they are not only beautiful but they are great subjects to test my skills with their dark plumage and white bills. Getting the exposure right on these birds is a challenge.<\/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":"

People usually think of American Coot chicks as either cute or ugly, I’m in the cute camp when it comes to these chicks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":146304,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,124,1148,26],"tags":[4004,4010,4134,2772,2773,4121,4067,4071,4094,3976,4586,4156,165,953,4095,4193],"class_list":["post-46947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-coot","tag-chick","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-fulica-americana","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-marsh","tag-nesting","tag-rails","tag-resting","tag-spring","tag-standing","tag-wetlands","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-chick-mia-mcpherson-8084.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cdd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45738,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/24\/spring-means-nesting-birds-and-chicks-please-give-them-space\/","url_meta":{"origin":46947,"position":0},"title":"Spring Means Nesting Birds and Chicks – Please Give Them Space","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Spring means birds are getting ready to find mates, breed, nesting and raising their young.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nesting American Coot at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-coot-nest-mia-mcpherson-3083.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-coot-nest-mia-mcpherson-3083.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-coot-nest-mia-mcpherson-3083.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-coot-nest-mia-mcpherson-3083.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125253,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/21\/american-coot-on-the-last-day-of-winter\/","url_meta":{"origin":46947,"position":1},"title":"American Coot On The Last Day Of Winter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the birds I photographed on the last day of winter at Bear River MBR was an American Coot. I happen to like seeing their big, funky-looking feet.","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 adult about to enter the water, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-1039.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-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-1039.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-1039.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-coot-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-1039.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":46947,"position":2},"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, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.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-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":99702,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/06\/american-coot-entering-the-icy-bear-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":46947,"position":4},"title":"American Coot Entering The Icy Bear River","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was up at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge late last week I photographed an American Coot entering the icy Bear River from the auto tour loop.","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 splashing into the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/american-coot-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-5507.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/american-coot-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-5507.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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