Families: Rallidae, Aramidae, Gruidae
These families include 14 species found in North America. All of them inhabit marsh wetlands where they consume vegetation and small animals but the feeding habits vary greatly. Cranes are often seen due in part to their size but Limpkins are secretive and solitary, rails and soras are skulkers and secretive where coots and gallinules are often found in the open.
I kept hoping that this running American Coot would become airborne but my hopes were dashed because it stopped short of taking flight.
I spent some time at one of the local ponds yesterday afternoon and came home with photos that made me smile and for a little while I forgot about the long hours I spent getting skunked on the road earlier in the day.
I photographed this American Coot in February when parts of my local pond were frozen which caused a restriction in the space where the coots, ducks, geese and grebes could feed and there were many territorial squabbles to photograph.
The last couple of times I have gone to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and further north of there I have been so happy to hear and see, even if from a long distance, the return of our Sandhill Cranes.
I'm excited that the American Avocets, American White Pelicans and Sandhill Cranes have returned to northern Utah because I look forward to seeing and photographing them again.
Perhaps I am easy to please but I got a real kick out of photographing this American Coot while it bathed, shook and fluffed on the pond close to home.
The last birds I photographed in 2017 were American Coots and some of the first birds I took photos of in 2018 were also coots.
I opted to leave my teleconverter on while photographing this bathing American Coot
While observing American Coots I can see that they are feisty, pugnacious and aggressive in their behaviors and they don't seem to take any guff from each other.
Florida is about as far north as Limpkins are found in North America and they can be seen in freshwater marshes, ponds, lakeshores and swamps.
There were birds that I photographed including this Yellow-rumped Warbler who perched out in the open with the fall colors of curly docks in the background.
I've written before that I love American Coots and I guess that will never change, I will stop for coots any time I see them, I will photograph them and enjoy their antics.
People usually think of American Coot chicks as either cute or ugly, I'm in the cute camp when it comes to these chicks.
Why? Because the image is never as important as the well being and safety of my subject, especially when it comes to nests and chicks.
I saw and photographed a mated pair of Sandhill Cranes yesterday morning in the marsh from the auto tour loop and watched them search for food.
Even though I can't see them with my eyes as I write this I can imagine Sandhill Cranes waiting for the first rays of the sun to reach the marshes where they spent the night.
It was my photos of a Double-crested Cormorant and American Coot in the snow storm that touched me the most even though both birds are small in the frame.
Common Gallinules and American Coots are both from the Rallidae family and there are some similarities in their appearance, for instance both have a triangular bill with a frontal shield at the top.
We still have our winter birds and the spring migrants have begun their journey north so my bird photography is likely to pick up and get exciting soon if the clouds will give me a break.
I'm dreaming of seeing Greater Sage-Grouse, Sandhill Cranes and White-tailed Prairie Dogs as spring warms up the sagebrush steppe.
American Coots are quarrelsome birds and they are quick to give chase whether it is over food or territory and they will fight, sometimes even to death, for both.
Early in January I photographed an American Coot being chased by two Mallards for the food it carried in its bill.
When the birds settled back down on the pond this American Coot walked up onto the shore with the open water behind it and I couldn't resist taking portraits of it.
The American Coot seemed to turn its head a few times to see if it was still being chased and when it saw that it was it it kept scooting across the surface of the pond and always kept its bill clamped down on its food.
Winter is a great time to photograph these coots close to home because they seem more approachable plus the water picks up wonderful reflections from the snow on the ground at the edge of the pond.
American Coots have interesting behaviors that I like to try to capture, for instance the way they run across the surface of the water during territorial chases.
This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Another change that has officially occurred was that Sandhill Cranes were moved from the genus Grus to Antigone.
Last year I had the pleasure of photographing this nonbreeding Sora in the Centennial Valley of Montana.
I was photographing a pair of cranes foraging on the ground when a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling in flight flew over and I took a series of images of them.