We’ve seen this American Coot by the Yacht Club in Orleans many times in the past few weeks. It was always walking among scores of ducks and not that easy to photograph. (Click on blog link for other photos.)

We stopped there yesterday morning in the heavy fog just to see if there was anything going on and there was the American Coot foraging around through the grass all by himself. Not a duck in sight. What a treat! Look at those crazy feet!

“The American coot is a dark, duck-like bird in the rail family, often mistaken for a duck, with a distinctive white bill and red eyes, and is found in wetlands across North America. It has a slate-gray body, chicken-like walk, and unique lobed toes for swimming and walking on vegetation, feeding on aquatic plants and invertebrates.”