Ronald Zee
Well-known member
A couple of years ago I often did visit a lake on which banks a moorhen family lived. During the winter only one of the juveniles remained with its parents. Whenever I visted the lake I gave some bread to the moorhens. After a couple of months the juvenile ran towards me at full speed whenever it saw me approaching, it did so until it was about twenty metres away from me, then it slowed down its pace and looked left and right to make sure its parents were following. When the moorhens were a couple of metres from me I threw them some bread, the juvenile always took one piece and then ran back as fast as it could.
Around the same time I alway passed a little canal, on my way to work, where a coot family lived. One day I saw just one parent with four young, when I looked around I saw the male coot lying dead in the road, probably hit by a car. After a week or so of the four young only one remained. Then one day I didn’t see mother and young, when I went looking for them I found them both (to my surprise) in a very small pond not far from the canal, I was surprised by this because to reach the pond they had to cross a very very busy road. Then one morning when I passed the pond I saw only the young coot (who was about three weeks old), it was making a lot of noise because it was all alone and afraid. When I threw it some bread it did swim away from me, which it had never done before. So I started looking for the mother, I found her in the canal where she was probably looking for her mate which had suddenly disappeared, of course she did not know the male coot was lying dead in the road. While at work I was thinking that when I passed the pond later the young coot probably would have been eaten by a gull or heron. When I returned to the pond later I saw to my relief that the mother had returned and was on the nest with her young. This time the young coot climbed onto the bank towards me to eat some pieces of bread I had thrown on the bank, it must have felt safe now because its mother (who had stayed on the nest) was watching.
In another canal I was following another moorhen family, parents with two young. One day when I was watching the young (who were about four weeks old) they were being chased out of the water onto the bank by an adult coot. What they did then made me laugh but also suprised me, and I think the coot as well. When the two had run about two metres away from the waters edge they suddenly turned around and ran back again to the waters edge, (where the coot still was), when they had come there they did make their typical prrr prrr sound and did this while taking a few steps back and forth. The coot just looked at them and then sway away and, believe me or not, he did look back twice to the young moorhens.
A couple of months later there was second brood, this time there were four young. One day I saw three of the young moorhens of about three weeks old on the bank, they were walking around at the bottom of a tree, they had come there after they had descended several steps, after I had watched them for a while I realised they could not go back again because the steps were to high. One of the parents was in the canal with one of the juveniles and one of the younger ones. The other parent was nervously walking around on a little wall watching the three chicks. I then decided to catch them and to put them back in the water, when I approached them the parent on the wall started to shriek alarmingly. Then to my amazement the other juvenile, who was sitting on the grass about 20 metres away (there was something wrong with one of its legs and was limping), suddenly flew to the place were the chicks were and placed itself, with outstretched wings, before the three chicks to protect them. I was so taken aback by this that I took several steps back, the three chicks then ran to a hole in the wall, thinking that perhaps this was a passage to the water I left. When I returned an hour later I saw the three chicks in the same spot and one of the parents still on the wall. A woman who lived acros the road was also watching them, this time with her help, she positioned herself before the hole, I could grab the chicks and put them back in the water with the rest of the family. The parents must have felt relieved but they were also shocked because they kept on shrieking for several minutes. What amazed me most of all was that the juvenile came to protect the three chicks instead of the parent on the wall.
Around the same time I alway passed a little canal, on my way to work, where a coot family lived. One day I saw just one parent with four young, when I looked around I saw the male coot lying dead in the road, probably hit by a car. After a week or so of the four young only one remained. Then one day I didn’t see mother and young, when I went looking for them I found them both (to my surprise) in a very small pond not far from the canal, I was surprised by this because to reach the pond they had to cross a very very busy road. Then one morning when I passed the pond I saw only the young coot (who was about three weeks old), it was making a lot of noise because it was all alone and afraid. When I threw it some bread it did swim away from me, which it had never done before. So I started looking for the mother, I found her in the canal where she was probably looking for her mate which had suddenly disappeared, of course she did not know the male coot was lying dead in the road. While at work I was thinking that when I passed the pond later the young coot probably would have been eaten by a gull or heron. When I returned to the pond later I saw to my relief that the mother had returned and was on the nest with her young. This time the young coot climbed onto the bank towards me to eat some pieces of bread I had thrown on the bank, it must have felt safe now because its mother (who had stayed on the nest) was watching.
In another canal I was following another moorhen family, parents with two young. One day when I was watching the young (who were about four weeks old) they were being chased out of the water onto the bank by an adult coot. What they did then made me laugh but also suprised me, and I think the coot as well. When the two had run about two metres away from the waters edge they suddenly turned around and ran back again to the waters edge, (where the coot still was), when they had come there they did make their typical prrr prrr sound and did this while taking a few steps back and forth. The coot just looked at them and then sway away and, believe me or not, he did look back twice to the young moorhens.
A couple of months later there was second brood, this time there were four young. One day I saw three of the young moorhens of about three weeks old on the bank, they were walking around at the bottom of a tree, they had come there after they had descended several steps, after I had watched them for a while I realised they could not go back again because the steps were to high. One of the parents was in the canal with one of the juveniles and one of the younger ones. The other parent was nervously walking around on a little wall watching the three chicks. I then decided to catch them and to put them back in the water, when I approached them the parent on the wall started to shriek alarmingly. Then to my amazement the other juvenile, who was sitting on the grass about 20 metres away (there was something wrong with one of its legs and was limping), suddenly flew to the place were the chicks were and placed itself, with outstretched wings, before the three chicks to protect them. I was so taken aback by this that I took several steps back, the three chicks then ran to a hole in the wall, thinking that perhaps this was a passage to the water I left. When I returned an hour later I saw the three chicks in the same spot and one of the parents still on the wall. A woman who lived acros the road was also watching them, this time with her help, she positioned herself before the hole, I could grab the chicks and put them back in the water with the rest of the family. The parents must have felt relieved but they were also shocked because they kept on shrieking for several minutes. What amazed me most of all was that the juvenile came to protect the three chicks instead of the parent on the wall.
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