{"id":55438,"date":"2018-12-29T05:17:01","date_gmt":"2018-12-29T12:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=55438"},"modified":"2025-10-09T16:57:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:57:15","slug":"focusing-on-a-feeding-american-coot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/29\/focusing-on-a-feeding-american-coot\/","title":{"rendered":"Focusing On A Feeding American Coot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAmerican Coot with food – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

After I finally got my site moved to the new server I took a much needed break and went to the local pond to see what birds were there in the late afternoon light.<\/p>\n

The north wind was bitter cold and it made my fingers smart but it felt so good to be away from my desk and the computer screen.<\/p>\n

The birds that came in the closest were Pied-billed Grebes and American Coots so I focused on both species as they dove under the water in search of food.<\/p>\n

American Coots are almost always amusing to me because coots make a lot noise, they squabble often, they fight, can be messy eaters, they have large, funny looking feet, and catching some of their behaviors in photos can be fun.<\/p>\n

One of the American Coots brought up a bill filled with aquatic vegetation so I focused on it because I know they can look funny while they are trying to gulp down their food.<\/p>\n

I wasn’t disappointed when the coot shook the water off of the green vegetation it had brought up from the bottom of the pond. Water droplets were flying everywhere.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Coot vigorously shaking its food – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

At home when I could see the photos I had taken on a much larger screen I nearly choked on my laughter when I saw this image of the coot vigorously shaking its food, the coot almost looks cross-eyed and I wasn’t aware that they could physically do that.<\/p>\n

Spending just a few minutes outside in the clear air photographing an amusing American Coot<\/span><\/a> was exactly what I needed after spending so much time at my desk during the move to the new server.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

At home when I could see the photos I had taken on a much larger screen I nearly choked on my laughter when I saw this image of the coot vigorously shaking its food<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":159605,"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":[4004,5554,4010,2772,2773,4286,4121,1984,4502,8018,6917,3996,373],"class_list":["post-55438","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-afternoon-light","tag-american-coot","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-eating","tag-fulica-americana","tag-pond","tag-shaking","tag-urban","tag-vegetation","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-eating-shaking-mia-mcpherson-7434.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-eqa","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50454,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/01\/02\/coots-coots-and-more-coots\/","url_meta":{"origin":55438,"position":0},"title":"Coots, 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Coot running on water in afternoon light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-running-mia-mcpherson-0898.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-running-mia-mcpherson-0898.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-running-mia-mcpherson-0898.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-running-mia-mcpherson-0898.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17041,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/15\/an-american-coot-munching-on-food\/","url_meta":{"origin":55438,"position":2},"title":"An American Coot Munching On Food","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"American Coots are common birds and some folks might find them fairly plain but I like them and enjoy photographing them too.","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 munching on food, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-coot-eating-mia-mcpherson-6359.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-eating-mia-mcpherson-6359.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-coot-eating-mia-mcpherson-6359.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago I photographed this adult American Coot bathing on a sunny afternoon at a pond close to where I live in Salt Lake City.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult American Coot bathing in icy cold water, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-coot-adult-bathing-mia-mcpherson-8517.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-adult-bathing-mia-mcpherson-8517.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-coot-adult-bathing-mia-mcpherson-8517.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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