F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 160.
Common Gallinule
Wanna hear a joke about construction?
Never mind, I’m still working on it.
Interesting Fact: Common Gallinules nest in marshes, lakes, and ponds with emergent vegetation. They tend to build nests on top of thick mats of aquatic plants near the water’s edge, but sometimes nest in trees or shrubs. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Gallinule/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
American Coot
“Babe is it in?”
“Yea.” “Does it hurt?”
“Uh huh.”
“Let me put it in slowly.”
“It still hurts.”
“Okay, let’s try another shoe size.”
Interesting Fact: A slow and meticulous forager, the American Coot plucks at plants while walking, swimming, dabbling with its head just underwater, or in full dives. In flight coots are clumsy and labored (though less so than Common Moorhens). To get airborne, coots typically have to beat their wings while running across the water for many yards. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot/lifehistory# )
F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 160.
Common Gallinule
Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance?
Because he had no-body to go with
Interesting Fact: Common Gallinules build nests to raise their young, but they also build platforms of matted vegetation to display for potential mates. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Gallinule )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
American Coot
Why was the broom late?
It over swept!
Interesting Fact: The ecological impact of common animals, like this ubiquitous waterbird, can be impressive when you add it all up. One estimate from Back Bay, Virginia, suggested that the local coot population ate 216 tons (in dry weight) of vegetation per winter. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 500.
American Coot
Can February march?
No, but April may.
Interesting Fact: The American coot is a highly gregarious species, particularly in the winter, when its flocks can number in the thousands.[20] When swimming on the water surface, American coots exhibit a variety of interesting collective formations, including single-file lines, high density synchronized swimming and rotational dynamics, broad arcing formations, and sequential take-off dynamics. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_coot#Behavior )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 160.
Common Gallinule
Why did the boy tiptoe past the medicine cabinet?
He didn’t want to wake the sleeping pills!
Interesting Fact: Common Gallinules expanded their range northward during the twentieth century. They started breeding in Pennsylvania for the first time in 1904; now they breed as far north as the Maritime Provinces of Canada. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Gallinule )
F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 160.
Common Gallinule
Why shouldn’t you marry a tennis player?
Because love means nothing to them!
Interesting Fact: The Common Gallinule has long toes that make it possible to walk on soft mud and floating vegetation. The toes have no lobes or webbing to help with swimming, but the gallinule is a good swimmer anyway. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Gallinule )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
American Coot
How do you get a squirrel to like you?
Act like a nut.
Interesting Fact: The ecological impact of common animals, like this ubiquitous waterbird, can be impressive when you add it all up. One estimate from Back Bay, Virginia, suggested that the local coot population ate 216 tons (in dry weight) of vegetation per winter. ( American Coot Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.
American Coot
What did the rug say to the floor?
Don’t move, I’ve got you covered.
Interesting Fact: 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 it doesn’t impede walking on dry land, though it supports the bird’s weight on mucky ground. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_coot )
F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 320.
Common Gallinule
Why is there only one Yogi Bear?
Because when they tried to make another one, they made a Boo-Boo.
Interesting Fact: The long-toed Common Gallinule walks atop floating vegetation and soft soils in a crouched position while slowly flicking its tail up. Seldom do you see them fly, but when they do, their flight is labored. They stride through water pumping their head forward with tail held horizontally and wings held up over the back. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Gallinule/lifehistory )
Through Open Lens 