Spring chicks (Coot)
Written by Friday, 12 June 2009 00:00
"When you need to fly from your home, it's not a home. Home should be where the birds feelings are free not caged.” Unknown
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Spring chicks (Fulica atra, common name: Coot) Spring at Sale water park is particularly interesting, given that the breeding season starts. Birds pair off and start nesting, which disrupts the usual activities at the park. We identified three different pairs of coots nesting and followed them closely. The pairs stayed together while we were observing them; the female was mostly in the nest and the male patrolling nearby. Interestingly enough, we also noticed three pairs of grebes, each pair staying in the vicinity of one of the coot nests. The coots were not aggressive towards the grebes, who, on some occasions, were as close to the nests as to physically touch them while the female coot was sitting on eggs. Taking photos of the nest and the eggs was quite difficult; the pairs nest amongst tall reeds and it is important not to scare or disturb them. We had to carefully approach the nests, stay in a distance that the birds considered safe, and remain there motionless for a considerable period of time until the birds got used to our presence. We were quite successful; the female coot in the first photo felt it was quite safe for her to sit on the eggs after a short swim. Our distance from the nest, and the physical impediments between us and the birds, also determined the lenses we had to use. It is reported that coots are aggressive parents, often brutal to their chicks. (1) We have not witnessed any such behaviour during the time we observed three different pairs of birds with their chicks - on different occasions. Both parents of the pairs we observed were quite attentive to and protective of their chicks. As the chicks were growing up one of the parents was staying with them in the nest while the other parent was standing vigil nearby, warning them of possible dangers approaching the nest. It is possible, however, that in areas with high predation parents do try to silence particularly noisy chicks for fear of their cries attracting predators, which would eradicate the whole brood. Photos by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos Shooting Data: 1. Camera: Nikon D2X 2. Camera: Nikon D300 3. Camera: Nikon D2X 4. Camera: Nikon D2X 5. Camera: Nikon D300 6. Camera: Nikon D300 7. Camera: Nikon D300 8. Camera: Nikon D2X 9. Camera: Nikon D300 10. Camera: Nikon D300
(1) wikipedia |
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