Babes in the lake

Went out for my run in the middle of the day, and remembered that I wanted to get a picture of birds which frequent Western Springs Lake. A little bit of rain from a totally grey sky didn't dampen my enthusiasm. I saw lots of the birds that are listed as breeding in this area.

I was really delighted to see a small New Zealand Scaup, a diving duck. And I watched it dive three times. Unable to get a clear photo of it under the water, and on the surface it wasn't as pretty as these are.

These three are Australian Coot (Fulica atra australis) chicks. This species is now endemic in New Zealand as well. They became established here after a large number crossed the Tasman in 1957, when Eastern Australia suffered a severe drought. They are common at Western Springs, and generally prefer small lakes like this one, or shallow bays of larger lakes. Living 15 - 20 years, they breed between August and February laying 4 - 8 eggs into a floating nest of twigs and other vegetation. Their diet is mainly vegetarian, but they will dive for small aquatic invertebrates as well as underwater vegetation.

While I was watching them and getting this picture (and a few others that S and Jesafly both regarded as inferior to this), the parent bird was gathering vegetation and feeding them. Couldn't quite capture that.