American Coots: NARRATED

If you appreciate the movie, please click 'like'. Filmed at Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA, and Crown Beach in Alameda, CA.

[@PhyllisChandlerGrey]

As usual, Jo Alwood provides an informative and entertaining look into the world of birds. Thanks for the time well-spent viewing your work!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Hey, Phyllis, hi! And thank you for that fulsome praise. Reading it was a nice way to start my day.

[@billsomody6928]

Nice tongue in cheek narrative to make one smile and chuckle! Thank you, Ms Alwood! Very much appreciated!🥰💕

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

You’re welcome, and thanks for the nice compliment. Just call me Ms. Tongue in Cheek.

[@pamelakern2849]

I usually watch flocks of coots from a distance. They are very shy and paddle away if I try to get a closer look. This was a very informative enjoyable video. I feel like I learned so much .👍👌🏽

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I know what you mean, Pamela, about how shy the Coots are. But I filmed a few of them that were very tame in a public park in downtown Oakland, and I was grateful to be able to get so close and observe how they hunt for food.

[@lossatt]

I think coots are cute! I love seeing them as I paddle my kayak down the river.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I've never had that privilege. What a fun way to watch them.

[@LisaSaffell]

I love those coots! The underduck!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

LOL. Love it, Lisa.

[@tjdillashaw2703]

Jo this was fun, informative, and beautiful! Saw my first coot today (the bird) and I'm doing some research on it because I never even knew it existed! I'm very happy to stumble upon this video. Your narration really made my day

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

It's a treat for me to read your comment, TJ. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie and found it useful. Making these movies is a constant learning experience for me. I knew little about Coots until I researched them as I made this video. Same thing for ... just about every animal I've filmed.

[@jimseifried8416]

Great video Jo !!! You keep educating all of us. Nice work, ;-)

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Thanks for the praise, Jim. The way it works is that I educate myself--because I know so little to begin with--and then educate you. I love having a hobby where I learn so much.

[@RickyLJones]

Got to love us old Coots! Wonderful job Jo, Happy New Year!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I do love old coots--I'm married to one. Thanks for the comment and Happy New Year to you too!

[@andreabank8786]

I absolutely love your videos! They explain so much!

[@umbrellathorn]

thank you, I stumbled across this video while looking up the slang term and it really made me smile. I also learned a lot!!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

My pleasure- because I enjoy hearing from someone who got such a kick out of this little video. Thanks for telling me so.

[@plzhd2]

I just saw your add!!!! Watched the whole ten minutes of beautiful hummingbirds and great editing and narrating! Omg! Loved the tuftcoquette! Yeah, he should skip trying to get a visa to come here! Usually, I skip through adds when watching (listening while doing house or yard chores)! I heard your voice and had to go to phone to watch!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ I thought someone was paying you to advertise hummy feeders!!! Not sure, if you know where the add was placed, but it was before Bill Whittle! Yeah, love that man!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Thx for letting me know!

[@rosestillwagon]

This is wonderful information! I saw my first coot today!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Glad to hear you liked it so much! Thank you. I have to say, though, that a first siding of a coot isn’t that thrilling. I mean, it’s not like seeing your first Baltimore oriole or Osprey or kestrel. But they are all interesting if you learn a little bit about them.

[@spitfirebird]

Fun fact: coots have lobes on their feet, similar to that of Hesperornis ( “Western Bird” in latin), a type of extinct bird that hails from the Mesozoic epoch. They were around the size of an emporor penguin, with cormorant-like proportions. Their wings were vestigial, meaning they became virtually non-existant due to being no longer needed. They would also scoot around with their feet pushing them around on land, so they weren’t the fastest runners. Their lobed feet worked like the webbing on waterfowl feet, and again, like the lobed feet of coots, and they could gain some serious traction underwater, rivaling the speed and maneuverability of cormorants! Weirdly enough, they had teeth, with the upper bill only having teeth at the front but the lower bill having teeth throughout. It is thought to be an intermediate between a mouth with teeth and a toothless beak. The even weirder part is that most mesozoic birds had teeth, like longipteryx, a kingfisher-like bird that fed on fish and insects. Or icthyornis, a distantly related species to seagulls, and they also had teeth similar to hesperornis.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I wonder why the birds that had teeth didn't survive the challenge of time. I'd have thought it would be an advantage. I understand about the lobed feet, even did a movie describing the lobed feet of Pied-billed Grebes.

[@spitfirebird]

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME the reason the toothless birds survived is because the mass extinction of the Cretaceous hit forest-dwelling species especially hard, so most birds that survived were aquatic or ground dwelling. Seeds also would have been easy to find. Being small also would have helped you survive the aftermath. Most toothed birds didn’t have the survivor’s combination of being small, ground-dwelling/aquatic, and seed-eating, and even if some toothed birds survived, they would most-likely become toothless overtime.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

@@spitfirebird I appreciate the explanation. As a matter of fact, we were talking about the Permian Extinction at the dinner table last night, because I mentioned that dragonflies have been around for 320 million years, and my brother-in-law was marveling at their survival of the Permian.

[@spitfirebird]

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME also I would like to point out that ichthyornis actually isn’t related to gulls our any bird in the family Laridae. In fact, it isn’t even the closest relative to modern birds, that honor goes to coelosaurian dinosaurs. Oh and now that I think about it, I was also quite surprised that dragonflies and other arthropods survived, but knowing how adaptable and hardy Arthropods are now, I’m not surprised, as arthropods are able to survive in many environments, so they were probably some of the first creatures to bounce back.

[@paytonrenner]

I’m studying for my environmental science class about bird identification and your channel has been so helpful!!! I’ve learned so much from your videos. I love your narrations too :) learning about birds is so much fun, thank you for your videos!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I'm pleased and flattered to hear that my movies are helping you navigate the bird section of your environmental science class, Payton. And when you get to the insects, may I suggest my two movies about the importance of putting in native plants: bugs can't eat most cultivars, and without bugs you pretty much don't have an ecosystem. Study on! (And keep watching my channel. 😉)

[@paytonrenner]

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME Will do! 😄

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

@@paytonrenner I'm glad to hear it. Of the 300 movies I've done, those two are the most worth watching because the concept they explain is so important. (Plus, watching all those bizarre little bugs is fun.)

[@mdnght0095]

Great video Jo. You have a very soothing voice.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Until I started narrating these movies, I never thought about whether my voice was soothing. But you're the latest of many commenters to tell me so. Thank you.

[@TimberFlip]

coots are beautiful too

[@leannezezeski-sass2773]

My favorite animal based phrase is silly goose, geese are in fact very silly

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Could you give me an example? Apparently I haven't watched geese enough.

[@jdoutdoorsnature6460]

Coots are beautiful.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Yes. The "underduck" as one of my other viewers put it.

[@MUNDOM316]

I love how these birds run on water

[@TheLIRRFrenchie...]

They must migrate somewere for awhile because i haven't seen them since this summer. At lake merritt or golden gate park.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

They must just move to different spots for awhile, because they're permanent residents in the Oakland area. At least, that's what the range maps tell me, and I filmed them there early last December.

[@c.h9976]

I only just discovered these birds exist, they've got such cool feet.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Yeah, the only time I ever saw those feet close up was the day I had a chance to film when I was visiting Oakland. I hadn't known about their feet, but I was intrigued by them.

[@debrak.6430]

Ha!!!!! Great narration!!!😂

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Love to hear it, Debra. Thanks.

[@Rad_Radster_Experience]

So not a duck, not quite a chicken..... nature must've been having a couple of beers when the plans for this bird came to be. Still, a beautiful creature - cranky or not.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Haha. "Nature must've been having a couple of beers when the plans for this bird came to be" goes on my list. Thanks.

[@jankjason]

There's Coot's in Australia too.

[@Fronzel41]

The body is round.

[@discosecret6363]

I think Coots are pretty great.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I appreciate them more since I filmed them and made this movie.

[@tornadoandfiresirensofohio8479]

I like I like your you video I'm surprised or actually a species of rails so that means rails or actually a species of waterfowl

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

My husband--who knows volumes more about birds than I do--tells me that "waterfowl" refers only to ducks, geese and swans. The rails and coots are marsh birds or--as I called them in this movie "water birds". When I had a chance to film the Coots close up, I was surprised to find out how interesting they were. I've always thought of them as dull black birds.So I'm glad you liked the video, because I wanted to show viewers that these dull birds weren't so dull after all.

[@wokeeye6441]

"Glut on the waterbird market" nice finance talk there!!!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I can't do much more than add and subtract two-digit numbers, but I do understand the concept of a glut. 😏

[@wokeeye6441]

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME there is a glut in the coot market, invest in mallard stocks in the following quarter

[@davidazinger5639]

lol. that's great !

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Glad you liked it, David? Would that be, perhaps, because you're an old coot yourself? ;-)

[@davidazinger5639]

There have been rumors, Jo, there have been rumors ! Now, if an old coot calls me an old coot, then you know I'm in trouble because birds of a feather flock together !!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Funny, David. Wanna be my script writer?

[@davidazinger5639]

your scripts are good; they're real good. Like the recipe for coot by field and stream; that was great. Never heard that one before.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Neither had I. My husband told me about it, and as soon as I heard it, I knew I'd use it.

[@kathleendesormeau9861]

What states are they located in

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

As far as I can tell from the range map, they’re in every state at some time of the year or other. You’d have to check the range map to know whether they are in your state all the time or just some of it.

[@idollove34]

good info

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

You wouldn't think there'd be that much to learn about this plain looking bird, would you?

[@oldgoat50]

Excuse me, I am the Oldgoat and have never been called an old coot.🥴

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Ah, well, it ain't over yet, and it could still happen. I'm 82, and being female don't have to concern myself that I'll be called an old coot.

Hello . I'm from Vietnam . Can you please apply for American coot, please? male sounds. children . The sound of the whole guitar is fine. No noise as possible. Thank you so much

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I don't understand your question.

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME I want to ask his cry

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

You can hear his cry at the beginning and at the end of the movie.

Vd: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4jWiph3bNmDfck

[@blue1771]

the last part i disagree i LOVE their pretty green, yellow, and blue feet and their stunning pearl-whit bill

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Spoken like a true bird lover--and I appreciate you being specific about what you love in the Coots.

[@عباسابوعليالصياد-ه2غ]

Voci coot northren shovler pentil mallrd teal Heron

[@عباسابوعليالصياد-ه2غ]

Voci coots shovler pentil mallrd teal Duck

[@WREFMAN]

Moistly speaking.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Haha.