April 16, 2021: American Coot
An interesting duck-like bird has been frequenting the small pond area along the nature trail. The American Coot can be identified by its dark grey color and white beak. A small detail that’s often overlooked is a faint red strip near the very tip of its beak.
Although it swims like a duck, the American Coot does not have webbed feet like a duck. Instead, each one of the Coot’s long toes has broad lobes of skin that help it kick through the water. The broad lobes fold back each time the bird lifts its foot, so they don’t impede walking on dry land. When taking flight, they must patter across the water, flapping their wings furiously, before becoming airborne.
They eat plant material, including stems, leaves, and seeds of pondweeds, sedges, grasses, and many others, as well as a lot of algae. Insects, tadpoles, fish, worms and snails can also be part of their diet
Why we only have one Coot here at Hershey’s Mill remains a mystery.
Happy Birding!!