Coots, Grebes, and the Odd Ones In Between
Okay, so this is the last lesson in the big birds module, and it's a bit of a catch-all, because these birds don't fit neatly anywhere else. That's kind of the point of the lesson, actually. Not everything sorts itself into a tidy category, and coots and grebes are a good example of birds that look like they should be ducks and absolutely are not ducks.
Let's start with the coot, because you've probably seen a hundred of them already without knowing it.
The American Coot
Coots are the dark gray, almost black birds bobbing around in big rafts on the open water, often mixed in with the ducks. From a distance people call them ducks all the time. I did too, my first winter. They've got a stubby white bill and a little white patch under the tail, and if you get a look at their feet, and this is the fun part, their feet aren't webbed like a duck's. They've got these lobed toes, kind of like flaps along each toe instead of a solid web between them. It's a strange looking foot. I always want to point it out to people because it explains so much about how the bird moves, both in water and on land, they're actually decent walkers compared to ducks.
Coots are technically rails, which is a whole different family of birds, mostly known for skulking around in marsh grass being secretive. Coots did not get that memo. They are the least secretive rail you will ever meet. They float around in big noisy groups, they squabble with each other constantly, and they'll strip the plants at the edge of the water down to nothing if there's enough of them. Ducks dabble and dive for food. Coots do a little of both, plus they'll just yank at plants from the surface. They're opportunists. I respect it.
The behavior giveaway, if you're not sure what you're looking at: coots bob their heads forward and back when they swim, kind of like a pigeon walking. Ducks don't do that. Once you notice the head-bob you'll never mix them up again.
Grebes
Grebes are trickier and I'll be honest, this is where I ask you to slow down and just watch for a minute, because the shape is subtle.
The one you're most likely to see out here in winter is the pied-billed grebe, which is small, dumpy, kind of a football with a head, brownish, no real markings to speak of in winter plumage. It rides low in the water, lower than a duck does, almost like it's sinking on purpose. And it dives constantly, disappearing under the surface and popping up somewhere you weren't expecting. That's the tell. Ducks paddle around on top. Grebes are down and under and gone, and you end up scanning the water going "where did it go, where did it go," and then there it is, thirty feet away, calm as anything.
You might also get eared grebes or western grebes out on the bigger water, especially early winter before things freeze up more. Western grebes are the elegant ones, long thin necks, sharp black and white, and they've got this beautiful low silhouette that looks almost like a snake swimming with a body attached. If you ever catch two of them doing their courtship dance, running across the water side by side, you'll remember it forever, but that's more a spring thing, so don't go out in January expecting it.
Grebes have that same lobed-toe setup as coots, not webbed feet, and their legs are set so far back on their body that they're actually clumsy on land, borderline unable to walk normally. They're built entirely for being underwater. It's a good reminder that birds get shaped by what they need to do, not by what looks nice.
What to actually do with this
Practically speaking, here's how I'd have you practice at home before you're back out on the trail with me:
- Pull up a photo of a coot's feet and a mallard's feet side by side. Just look at them for a second. That lobed-toe shape will click for you and you'll start noticing it in silhouette even at a distance.
- Watch for the head-bob. Next time you're near water, even a pond, even if it's full of park ducks, look for that forward-back head motion. That's your coot.
- Practice patience with the grebes. Pick one bird on the water and just watch it for a full minute without looking away. See how long before it dives and how far away it comes back up. That's the whole skill.
One opinion I'll repeat here because it applies especially to this lesson: slow down and stop talking, including me. Grebes reward stillness. If you're moving and chatting you will miss every single dive-and-surface, and that's the best part.
And a practical note, since we're getting into the coldest stretch of the season now. Dress warmer than you think you need to. I mean it. I got so cold one January morning a few years back that I genuinely could not work the buttons on my own coat, my fingers just wouldn't do it, and I had to sit in the car with the heater running for ten minutes before I could function like a person again. Now I dress like I'm headed up the canyon even though we're standing on flat ground two minutes off the freeway. Layers, real gloves, something on your head. The wind off that open water does not care that we're technically in the valley.
Before next time
Try to spot a coot and a grebe both in the same outing if you can, they're often on the same water. See if you can tell me which one dove and came up farther away than you expected.