you old coot...

is that a saying that's still in use today?  not something i really gave a lot of thought to until a couple of days ago... when i was out at the lake - looking for something interesting to shoot...  there were the usual geese and ducks hanging out - along with gulls flying in the distance - then i saw these black dots... huh!  i wondered what those were... maybe black ducks?  haven't seen black ducks around before.  so i kept a close watch as they got closer to shore... sure enough i was patting myself on the back thinking i'd spotted black ducks or perhaps little baby black swans - wouldn't that be a treat...  ya know, without my glasses i'm worthless - so it was still unclear to me what i was really seeing... but i was positive i was correct.  then they got within distance for me to see:

i thought, "these are not black ducks... i don't know what these are - they're cute though" - i remained very still - they decided i was okay, coming onto the shore line.  barely containing my giggles my immediate reaction was "look at those feet!"  then thought, "they look rather prehistoric"...  

i kind of shuffled around after them and let me tell you - they move very quickly over dry land - making little chirping kinds of noise - not exactly a quack... more along the lines of a higher pitched goose honk, but not really... it's very unique.  i had much fun capturing photos of these little ones...  they are playful - focused - charming and surprisingly, allowed me to get within very close range. 

some friends later identified them as american coots - which i found a total riot... albeit astounding because i've never seen them before in these parts.  i don't know if they've just stopped here for the season or what - but the flock is fairly large.  another treasure in the observation of wildlife - definitely fitting the bill insofar as "interesting" to photograph.

happy day.....