American coot

American coot photographed in Manitoba

Come April, as soon as the ice pulls back from the cattails, the coots are among the first birds back on the marsh. They look like ducks at a distance, but the slate-grey body, white bill, and red-brown eye give them away, and they are a rail, not a duck. They are noisy, busy, and always arguing with each other over some patch of open water.

Coots have big lobed toes instead of webbed feet, which help them swim, dive, and walk across floating vegetation. They run across the surface, wings flapping, for a long stretch before they can take off. The nest is a floating platform anchored in the reeds, and the newly hatched chicks are a startling mix of orange, red, and black down. Most coots leave Manitoba for the southern United States in fall.

To learn more about the American coot and its habitat, visit its species page at All About Birds.

Here are some of my favourite frames of this bird.

Field notes in photographs

  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 1
  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 2
  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 3
  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 4
  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 5
  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 6
  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 7
  • American coot photographed in Manitoba, 8
  • American coot chick with fluffy dark down and an orange head swimming through green reflections, Manitoba
  • American coot chick swimming among reeds with an adult coot calling in the background, Manitoba
  • American coot feeding a downy chick among green reeds, with two more chicks nearby, Manitoba

American coot Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the american coot in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Map of Manitoba showing where the american coot nests, with major cities and lakes
Where to look for the american coot in Manitoba through the seasons: nesting in the Boreal Plains and the Prairies (gold). Habitat regions: National Ecological Framework for Canada. Boundaries: Statistics Canada. Lakes: Natural Earth.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.

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