This topic of this post shouldn’t be a surprise seeing as how I gave a big hint at the end of the last post. As the Northern Shoveler fades into the background, his friend the American Coot takes the stage.
This is actually not the first time this particular bird has graced these pages. If you recall we kind of called them out in the Yellowstone post (link here). However, there is one big difference from that appearance and today’s entry…. in this post you can actually tell it’s a Coot. One thing I was not aware of from the first pictures was just how bright red their eyes are. Guessing this one just flew in from Vegas after having a really good time.
As with the set before (and the upcoming ones) these shots were taken at Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge which is located in Havana Cuba.. err make that Illinois. By the way, somehow the individuals that named this town got the pronunciation of it right. For some odd reason in our State the similar named cities and towns have butchered soundings – Athens, (strong A), Cairo (Kayrow), Rio (Rye-O), Milan (Mylan), Des Plaines (non-silent s), my favorite San Jose (San Joes) and Goofy Ridge. Okay, so the last one doesn’t fit but I had a quest to reference that scary location in one of my blogs and it was time to get that off of the to-do list. I wonder if I started calling it HavingNah if it would catch on.
Apparently this particular Coot didn’t appreciate my little joke about his hometown – giving me that stern look-back every 6 year old knows good and well. (and yes, that is the EXACT age I felt when coming up with the title for this post). It would be un-American to pass up the opportunity to draw up a reference to our childhood when confronted with a bird with that name. For the record, Linda is usually the one who makes the reference first!
Hit the jump to see more the set — don’t miss the take-off shots!
