coots – Alvecote Wood

Feed me Mum!

We don’t yet have any coots nesting in our ponds, which are a little bit small for them, so I went for a walk around our local lakes in Stonydelph to see if there were any little coots or ducklings to photograph. I was lucky. As well as some coot chicks that are a few days old, a very kind lady pointed me in the direction of some chicks that were newly-hatched. They were so new that they struggled to stand up. I watched as they fell over, got up again, and struggled to gain the attention of their parents. I watched them beg for food, and watched both parents feeding the two chicks with their huge, ungainly feet, and very alternative hairstyles! They were still drying their little winglets, and using them for balance as they ran along. It was heartrendingly cute, and it was all I could do to keep quiet and just keep taking the photos.

Here are some amazing family moments with these tiny little chicks.