{"id":75915,"date":"2020-12-08T05:29:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T12:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=75915"},"modified":"2025-03-28T04:14:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T09:14:59","slug":"diving-american-coot-breaking-my-own-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/08\/diving-american-coot-breaking-my-own-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Diving American Coot – Breaking My Own Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DivingDiving American Coot \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I photographed frosty Northern Harriers, American Kestrels, foraging Killdeer, a wading Great Blue Heron, several Red-tailed Hawks, one male Rough-legged Hawk, four Bald Eagles, a confiding Song Sparrow, immature and adult White-crowned Sparrows, and a female Common Goldeneye but the bird that got me the most excited yesterday morning was an American Coot.<\/p>\n

Why did a plain American Coot photo excite me? Because I finally took the image of one I have wanted to take for years. I’ve wanted a photo of an American Coot diving where its head was in the water with its rear end and legs above the water. I do wish the coot’s feet were visible in this image because they have fascinating feet but everything else in the photo is exactly how I wanted this image to be.<\/p>\n

Typically I have a personal rule about having eye contact with my subject and I also want a catch light but to get this coot photo I had to break my own bird photography rules. I know that this image won’t appeal to everyone which is absolutely okay because I took this photo for me as I do for all of my photos.<\/p>\n

Out of all the images I took yesterday this was the one that I was most interested in seeing on my large screen. An American Coot image that made my day.<\/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":"

Typically I have a personal rule about having eye contact with my subject and I also want a catch light but to get this coot photo I had to break my own bird photography rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142077,"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":[137,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[4004,4010,5756,2772,2773,4159,7755,4121,4094,10710,10711,3996,373],"class_list":["post-75915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-coot","tag-catch-light","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-diving","tag-eye-contact","tag-fulica-americana","tag-marsh","tag-rules","tag-subject","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-coot-diving-head-first-mia-mcpherson-9087.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-jKr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":117992,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/09\/american-coot-stink-eye-and-diving-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":75915,"position":0},"title":"American Coot Stink Eye And Diving Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am sharing some recent American Coot images where the coot is giving me the stink eye and diving. The images were taken at a pond 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":"American Coot diving into the water, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/american-coot-adult-fall-mia-mcpherson-5859.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/american-coot-adult-fall-mia-mcpherson-5859.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/american-coot-adult-fall-mia-mcpherson-5859.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/american-coot-adult-fall-mia-mcpherson-5859.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135383,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/08\/american-coot-and-concentric-ripples-in-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":75915,"position":1},"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. What I like about this photo is the coot and the concentric ripples in the water.","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 in ripples, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/american-coot-utah-willow-pond-ripples-mia-mcpherson-4399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/american-coot-utah-willow-pond-ripples-mia-mcpherson-4399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/american-coot-utah-willow-pond-ripples-mia-mcpherson-4399.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/american-coot-utah-willow-pond-ripples-mia-mcpherson-4399.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98161,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/13\/my-computer-is-up-and-running-but-i-am-frazzled\/","url_meta":{"origin":75915,"position":2},"title":"My Computer Is Up And Running But I am Frazzled","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"My post yesterday was about my computer not booting which messed up my morning post. Today my post is about getting my computer to boot yet I'm still feeling frazzled.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Diving adult American Coot, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/american-coot-diving-mia-mcpherson-2573.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/american-coot-diving-mia-mcpherson-2573.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/american-coot-diving-mia-mcpherson-2573.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/american-coot-diving-mia-mcpherson-2573.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":75915,"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, 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":108197,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/23\/american-coot-and-funky-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":75915,"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":109807,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/24\/two-american-coot-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":75915,"position":5},"title":"Two American Coot Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I like these 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\/75915","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=75915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}