Several canals intertwine on this base which attract various birds including the Common Coot,
Fulica atra. Mostly black, red eyes, legs that are long with a green-grey color and a white bill with a frontal shield leading up from the bill. During the Fall season, when these pictures were taken, I usually counted 6-10 Coots looking for food together in the reeds along the canal banks. Coots are very territorial and will chase a competitor away from the group. Looking more like chickens on the water, they flap their short stubby wings and race their claw-like feet over the water chasing another leaving a trail of churning water.
Moving into early Spring the Coots are rarely seen and then in pairs swimming along in the smooth waters of the canals or the lakes among the reeds. Not as shy as the Common Moorhen, described in a future post, the Coots are a delight to watch whether swimming calmly in the smooth waters or chasing one another leaving a wake of surging water.
