On Saturday afternoon between 2 & 2:30 I was at Stewart Park, some of the time with Ken Rosenberg.
We saw 2 carcases in the water fairly far out. One I'm not sure of the ID. The second, definitely a Coot,
I didn't notice until a Great Black-backed Gull was working on it and tipped it up to show the distinctive
lobed toes. I saw no struggle and didn't notice the gull carry it in, so I'm not sure why I didn't notice the
second carcase at first. Great Black-backed Gulls then took interest in the first carcase as well. I don't
know what killed either of them, but certainly the Great Black-backed Gulls and the Bald Eagle are likely
candidates, and the Red-tailed Hawk is another possibility. For that matter, people bring dogs into Stewart
Park even though it is posted "no dogs." There was a Boxer with some people by a bench on Saturday,
and it was straining against its leash as if eager to grab whatever bird it could. I know people take dogs
off leash in Stewart Park early in the morning, which is against the City's leash law as well as park rules.
So maybe dogs and their scofflaw owners are the culprits. Coots look like ripe meals to be plucked:
plump slow reluctant fliers. I don't know why nobody's seemed to go for them there before. Their only
defense so far as I know comes from a story, a recipe actually: When you've shot a Coot, nail the Coot
to a board for three days, then throw away the Coot and eat the board. Coots are not reputed to taste
very good. I'm not sure this reputation is deserved or more deserved than certain other waterfowl.
If anyone has real information about what's killing the coots, I am also interested.
We saw 2 carcases in the water fairly far out. One I'm not sure of the ID. The second, definitely a Coot,
I didn't notice until a Great Black-backed Gull was working on it and tipped it up to show the distinctive
lobed toes. I saw no struggle and didn't notice the gull carry it in, so I'm not sure why I didn't notice the
second carcase at first. Great Black-backed Gulls then took interest in the first carcase as well. I don't
know what killed either of them, but certainly the Great Black-backed Gulls and the Bald Eagle are likely
candidates, and the Red-tailed Hawk is another possibility. For that matter, people bring dogs into Stewart
Park even though it is posted "no dogs." There was a Boxer with some people by a bench on Saturday,
and it was straining against its leash as if eager to grab whatever bird it could. I know people take dogs
off leash in Stewart Park early in the morning, which is against the City's leash law as well as park rules.
So maybe dogs and their scofflaw owners are the culprits. Coots look like ripe meals to be plucked:
plump slow reluctant fliers. I don't know why nobody's seemed to go for them there before. Their only
defense so far as I know comes from a story, a recipe actually: When you've shot a Coot, nail the Coot
to a board for three days, then throw away the Coot and eat the board. Coots are not reputed to taste
very good. I'm not sure this reputation is deserved or more deserved than certain other waterfowl.
If anyone has real information about what's killing the coots, I am also interested.
--Dave Nutter
On Nov 14, 2010, at 02:48 PM, Jill Vaughan <jil...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Nov 14, 2010, at 02:48 PM, Jill Vaughan <jil...@gmail.com> wrote:
Late this morning, at Stewart Park, three of us saw a dead Coot on the shore of the Swan Pen. It was intact. The post from Marie Reed makes us wonder if there is a threat to the Coot population, since the Coot we saw was clearly not the one Marie saw given the different times we were there. (We did remove a leaded fishline with hook and bobber from a bush by the pen.)
