Contemplative Cootling

I only had time for a brief pond visit today: I went to Mount Pond on Clapham Common, and the only chicks I saw up close were large cootlings. They were behaving quite amusingly though: they were half-heartedly fending for themselves (half-heartedly because whenever a parent came even vaguely close, the cootlings would resort to cocking their heads entreatingly and wait, expectantly, to be fed). The cute thing about them fending for themselves is that they were duck coot-diving to fetch food from the bottom, but would spring up before diving down, sometimes getting their bodies mostly clear of the water.

I caught a few springs and sploshes on camera, but was more pleased with the meditative pose that this one was striking after bobbing back up from under the water. The water droplets on its back are residual wetness from a recent dive, and it was just adorably captivated by the ripples caused by droplets falling off its beak. Aw