Wednesday, 9/23

 I saw a coot yesterday.

No; I didn't go to visit with my dad. That would mean I saw an old coot. (Hi, Dad. Love you!!) Instead, I took advantage of the nice weather to play outside for a little while, where I saw a bird I don't think I've ever seen around here.

A bird just like this--

It wasn't that exact bird; that's a picture of one I took in Germany seven years ago. But as I was walking along the Lower Harbor Breakwall yesterday I saw something out of the corner of my eye, thought it was a plain 'ol duck, and was shocked when it turned out to be anything BUT a plain 'ol duck.

Who knew?

Until that visit to Germany I had no idea what a coot was, or what it looked like. But since then, I've seen them on several trips over there, making the coot kind of the unofficial mascot of our journeys. Basically, if you see a coot, you know you're in Europe.

That's why it freaked me out when I saw one off the Lower Harbor Breakwall.

Now, I know nothing about the migratory habits of the coot. Maybe they visit Marquette a lot flying here or there, and I've just never noticed one. However, I do know that climate change is, well, changing the habits of a lot of creatures, and perhaps the coot is among them. Perhaps this first sighting of one locally will lead to an annual feast of seeing them. Or, maybe, like many of us in 2020, this little coot just lost its way, and ended up somewhere it didn't expect.

You never can tell.

So if you happen to see a strange bird or three around here, see what it is. Maybe my new pal the Coot has decided to hang around for a bit!

(jim@wmqt.com)