Coot ( Fulica atra )

As we have a on land "tourist" day planned for our last day before travelling home we headed back to the marina.  Arriving late morning.  Kat took Solace straight down to the service berth.  This was made complicated by there being a boat at the service berth and the inevitable cross wind.  Marinas seem to have inbuilt winds blowing always in the wrong direction.

After the toilet pump out and filling with diesel she reversed it back up to our berth.  She is turning out to me a better Helmsman Helmswoman Helmsperson than I am ever likely to be.

Having got the essentials done we headed  a couple of miles down the road for lunch in the local garden centre.  Next to the garden centre is the HQ of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.  The cafe and offices sit in what was once the garden of a large house.  There is a stream, large ponds woodland, grassland and all this beside the River Trent.  Of course we always visit if we have time.

The blip is a coot on one of the ponds.  Possibly the best shot I have ever achieved of a Coot.  They are open water birds so generally a long way out, the reserve has the advantage they become habituated to humans.  I suspect they use open water as they are bottom feeders diving and picking vegetation from the bottom.  Rivers with a current would make this more difficult and canals are murky because the passing boates stir up the silt.