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Tag Archives: Coot

The Coot and the Zebra mussels

11 Saturday Mar 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds, molluscs

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Coot, Coot diet, Coot eating mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, Zebra mussel

I’ve been learning a lot about mussels this week, in particular about the Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). This invasive mollusc is native to the Caspian and Black Seas, spread from there to western Europe during the 19th century, and was first noted in Britain around 1824. By the 1970s it had spread extensively, through rivers and other waterways, around the coastline, into lakes and harbours. According to Cardiff University’s Professor Steve Ormerod, Cardiff ‘Bay has somewhere between 10 and 35 million of them covering every hard surface.’

230311 coot and zebra mussel (1)

The reason I have been learning about Zebra mussels is because of the Coot in my photographs and my curiosity about what it had found and was eating. I asked the question on Twitter and information came pouring in, in particular thanks to Steve Ormerod, who confirmed the identification and provided a link to a research paper he co-authored about the rapid colonisation of Cardiff Bay by these mussels when the Bay was first formed (see details and link below). Steve was able to tell me that Tufted ducks are the ‘classic predators’ of these mussels, and he was a little surprised to see a Coot also predating them, though did say that the mussels are ‘a lipid, protein and calcium-rich source for waterfowl’.

230311 coot and zebra mussel (2)

As for my Coot, it seemed to have worked that out for itself. Having dived for the mussel, it swam over to the water’s edge and proceeded to pull off all the vegetation and, presumably, any smaller mussels attached to the big one and ate all that. It then bashed the bigger one on the rocks like a Song thrush smashes snails on a stone, and down the hatch that went too. Happy Coot, and happy me, after watching and learning about something new!

230311 coot and zebra mussel (3)

Alix, Muriel, Richard J. Knight & Steve J. Ormerod, ‘Rapid colonisation of a newly formed lake by zebra mussels and factors affecting juvenile settlement‘, Management of Biological Invasions, 2016, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 405-18.

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Very late, very little

04 Tuesday Oct 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot chick, Roath Park Lake

I spotted this gorgeous little Coot chick (I call them Cootlets) during last Wednesday’s walk around Cardiff’s Roath Park Lake. It seemed very late in the breeding season for one so young and I couldn’t help but wonder whether it could survive. But it had the full attention of both its parents, so fingers crossed!

221004 cootlet

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Love story with a twist

08 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birds nesting in Cardiff Bay, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Great crested grebes mating

Great crested grebes are featuring here twice in one week but I can never resist a good story. When I arrived at Cardiff Bay wetlands yesterday, a pair was in the reeds near the boardwalk.

210408 grebe vs coot (1)

The female was lying flat across the beginnings of a nest platform, making odd groaning noises. Having seen this before, I knew what was going to happen next …

210408 grebe vs coot (2)

And it did. After a few minutes, the male jumped up on top of her and they proceeded to mate.

210408 grebe vs coot (3)

The dismount with grebes would never score well in a gymnastics competition – the male sort of slides off, pushing the female’s head under the water.

210408 grebe vs coot (4)

You could almost hear their after-thoughts: ‘Better get on with the nest building’, and both birds began gathering twigs to place on the nest.

210408 grebe vs coot (5)

But a nearby Coot was having none of it. He didn’t want these noisy characters for neighbours and, faster than the grebes could place twigs on the platform, he was pulling them off again.

210408 grebe vs coot (6)

There was a stand-off, much posturing and squawking, and eventually the male grebe charged the Coot. The grebe thought it had won but the Coot didn’t retreat far. The grebes might keep trying but my money’s on the Coot to win this territorial battle.

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When Coots attack

09 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve, Coot, coots fighting

Coots don’t do mediation. If a pair likes the look of or has already staked a claim to a particular nesting place, then they’ll fight to retain / defend that position.

210309 fighting coots (1)

Today I watched these two pairs battling over the pond in Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve.

210309 fighting coots (2)

It’s actually quite a large pond, which should be big enough for both pairs, but these Coots obviously thought otherwise.

210309 fighting coots (3)

And they certainly don’t pull any punches!

210309 fighting coots (4)

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118/366 A birding fix

27 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

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birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Coot, Ely embankment, Pied wagtail, Rock pipit, Shelduck, starling, Turnstone

I felt the need to see some birds today so headed down to Cardiff Bay for my exercise walk. First up, this pair of Shelducks were working their way around the water’s edge near the Barrage – first I’ve seen since the lockdown began.

200427 1 shelducks

This Starling had a beakful of caterpillar and flies so I presume it had hungry mouths to feed somewhere nearby.

200427 2 starling

At least fourteen Turnstones were picking and poking their way along the stones of the embankment, this one looking very handsome in its breeding colours.

200427 3 turnstone

This Coot was busy pulling bits of rubbish into the pile of sticks it has begun shaping into a nest. Its mate was nearby, hauling a branch to weave into the growing structure.

200427 4 coot

This was the first Rock pipit I’ve seen for a little while. It was busily prospecting for nibbles so perhaps it also has offspring to feed.

200427 5 rock pipit

Most of the wagtails have moved away to breed but this Pied wagtail looked very handsome amongst the Herb Robert and Red valerian that now covers much of the embankment.

200427 6 pied wagtail

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73/366 Egg-citing news

13 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot on nest, Coot with eggs, Eurasian coot

Mr and Mrs Coot are pleased to announce the laying of three eggs! I can’t tell male from female Coot – I’m not even sure if it’s possible to tell which is which – but one of them was sitting tight on the nest when I visited this morning.

200313 coot (1)

However, this small area of water has two pairs of Coots in residence, and they are uneasy neighbours. First, they were simply trying to intimidate each other.

200313 coot (2)

Next thing you know, there’s a full scale battle underway.

200313 coot (3)

And the sitting Coot left the nest to join in the tussle, which is how I know there are three eggs.

200313 coot (4)

Luckily, the skirmish didn’t last long, and the eggs were soon safe and warm under their parent once more.

200313 coot (5)

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333/365 A Bay full of birds

29 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, Chiffchaff, Coot, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Kingfisher, Linnet, Pied wagtail, Turnstone

What a wonderful long walk I had around Cardiff Bay today! Here are some of the birds I spotted along the way.

191129 1 goosander

There were nine Goosanders in total, four in the River Ely where it flows in to the Bay and another five further east, in the Bay proper.

191129 2 turnstone

My favourite little Turnstones, again four along the Ely embankment and more near Mermaid Quay.

191129 3 linnet

Linnets, a small flock of six flitting about the grassy slopes of the Barrage.

191129 4 pied wagtail

Pied wagtails – I lost count of these cheery little characters who appeared wherever I wandered.

191129 5 Great crested grebe

One of several Great crested grebes that live in the Bay, constantly diving for fish.

191129 6 black-headed gull

I was getting ‘the look’ from this Black-headed gull, in the pond at the wetlands reserve, for not supplying food!

191129 7 coot

This Coot was also hoping for food.

191129 8 chiffchaff

This Chiffchaff was a surprise – it’s either very late migrating or has decided to over-winter in Britain, as some now do. Interestingly, I saw a Chiffchaff yesterday too, in a different location.

191129 9 kingfisher

The best possible end to my walk – a Kingfisher peep-peep-peeped in to the pool near Hamadryad Park and perched on a branch over the water.

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308/365 Birds of St James’s Park

04 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Bahama pintail, birding, birding in London, birds in St James's Park London, birdwatching, Black swan, Canada goose, Coot, Egyptian Goose, Greylag goose, Moorhen, Ring-necked parakeet, Shelduck, St James's Park London, Tufted duck

I’ve just returned from three days with two friends in London. We were doing touristy things as our Australian friend hadn’t been to London before but I did manage some birding during our walk through St James’s Park. Though abundant and obviously breeding locally, most of these cannot really be classed as wild birds but they’re lovely just the same.

191104 st james park

The birds we saw included Mute swan and Black swan, Black-headed gull, Moorhen, Egyptian and Greylag and Canada goose, Feral pigeon, Shelduck and some species of white duck that I don’t recognise, Grey heron, Ring-necked parakeet, Bahama pintail, Tufted duck and more. Unfortunately, the resident Pelicans were hiding on their island so we saw them not.

191104 moorhen
191104 egyptian goose

191104 greylag
191104 shelduck

191104 heron white ducks191104 ring-necked parakeet

191104 bahama pintail
191104 black swan

191104 can goose coot191104 tufted duck

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64/365 Coot in trash

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot nesting, Coot on nest, rubbish around bird's nest, rubbish in waterways

What can I say? Sometimes I get very angry at the human race!

190305 Coot in trash

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52/365 Nesting

21 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birds building nests, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, coot nest building

190221 Coot nest building

As we’ve had a very unseasonal high of 14°C today (this is still meant to be winter remember), it’s not surprising that birds’ thoughts are turning to nest building. Today, at Cosmeston, I saw Magpies and Carrion crows stick-carrying, a Blue tit with moss in its beak perched on the entrance hole of a conveniently placed nest box, and this Coot transporting bits of reed to a secretive location.

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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