Coots are quite common across North America. This one is my neighbor for the time being. Though they frequently hang out with ducks, they are different. They don’t have webbed feet, they tend to have smaller groups of offspring, and the ones I’ve seen are much more shy than the ducks. Weighing in at less than two pounds. they tend not to be hunted. Like a lot of nature, they seem to flourish when neglected by the public. Coots can live to about twenty years of age or thereabouts, so if you are older than that, you’d be an old coot!
