Coots, As in... you old-

I really haven't been very happy with much that I've shot lately, hence the lack of posts for the past two weeks. Last weekend was a total wipe. Well, I did get some nice shots at a birthday party for my niece (3) and nephew (6) last Saturday, but they're not for posting. The next day at Iona was one of the worst-result days I've had in a long time. Almost nothing to shoot, and what I did was complete and utter crap.

Today at Reifel was a little better. Missed a chance to get a shot of a wood duck (on my list of must-gets), but at least I did see two of them before they disappeared down into the bushes then into the swamp (silhouetted by the sun). Seemed like no matter which path I took I was treated to a host of noisy, ill-trained little brats running around making a lot of noise and generally scarring all the birds away. Don't get me wrong, I think that Reifel is a great place to take kids, but they need to understand that it's not a playground and behaviour that belongs in a playground doesn't belong in a bird sanctuary. I suppose you can't blame the kids so much as the parents who simply can't be bothered to teach the proper etiquette. It was pretty bad today - the kind of day that makes you want to take a day off so you can go there not on a weekend when everyone else is there.

Anyway, these are two shots of american coots; I've posted two because one of the things that I found particularly interesting is the oddness of their heads. Most of the time they look like most other water fowl, but they have the ability to drop the neck which seems to then change the structure of their head. Odd.

You'll be happy to know - maybe - that I'm getting a bit tired of all the bird shot, as I expect you all must be. I'd thought about going out somewhere else today, where there are no birds - well, where birds aren't the main attraction/expectation - but couldn't decide on where to go so I ended up at Reifel anyway. Anyone with any suggestions for location/subject is encouraged to leave a comment with their suggestion.

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