Feed me!

I cunningly went for a wander round Petersfield Heath at lunchtime today, thereby catching it when it was unusually quiet while people were at home watching some do or other on TV.

There were quite a lot of little coot chicks around, being cute. I bet if I went back tomorrow half of them would have gone, taken by gulls or other predators. I've often suspected rats and I got talking to a couple (of people), who had just taken a hire boat round the lake, who said they'd seen a coot chasing a rat. Apparently the rat looked terrified and I can quite believe it as on my stroll I saw coots take on ducks, moorhens and swans. It must be a full-time job keeping their chicks safe though and such hard work when they're exhausted anyway just from trying to keep the little darlings fed. And the chicks just go off and do their own thing all the time. I wonder if coots can even count? Maybe they have no idea when they lose their chicks? Maybe it's better that way.