Feeding the Ducks

American CootWe decided to take our two year old daughter to feed the ducks this past Saturday. We live about five minutes from Lake Ontario, so there is a variety of water and wetlands in the area.

We figured we would be feeding them for a while, but it was pretty much a bust. The only ducks we found were out in the bay far beyond our reach. I even tried to lure them in with bread. I couldn’t even throw the bread out far enough for them to even notice it. So we drove around for a while trying everywhere in the area that was accessible within reason. The only ducks we did see were either out of reach or inaccessible.

We stopped at a small bridge on our way home and we saw a muskrat and this duck like creature. It took me a little while to actually figure out what is was. I tried searching for “black duck with a white bill”. What I found out was that this isn’t a duck at all, it’s an American Coot, a duck like water bird. I have been an outdoors man my entire life and I don’t ever remember seeing this wonderful bird before. I hope it sticks around for a while, I want to go back and take some more pictures.

Adam

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