Coot

The Coot is an all black bird with a distinctive white beak and “shield” above the beak from which earns it the title “bald”. Its feet have distinctive lobed flaps of skin on the toes which act instead of webs when swimming. It patters noisily over the water before taking off and can be very aggressive towards other birds.

Coot can be found all the year round mainly on freshwater lakes, gravel pits, reservoirs, rivers and town park lakes. Sometimes they can be seen offshore, especially in winter if freshwater areas are frozen. They breed in areas of fairly shallow standing freshwater with a muddy bottom and plenty of vegetation at the sides, usually in lowland areas.

Date: 14th April 2024

Location: RSPB Rainham Marshes, Essex