Coots and Gulls

I was out for my new favorite walk around the Superior Drive pond again today, between rain showers. The loon was prominent once again at the center of the pond, and Brendon Etter, who opened his window to chat, reported having seen a pair of them now (see his comment to yesterday's Loon in Northfield post). I also spotted a swimming muskrat, which was smaller than I'd expected. By this time I'd already been around the pond and the only other waterfowl to be seen were a little covey of coots, or whatever the proper collective noun for coots might be:

Behind that pond is another, still half-frozen, on the very edge of town, where there were quite a few gulls (below).


I'm not expert at gull identification, but I think these are likely to be Ring-billed Gulls, based on the pale wings with black tips and the fan-shaped tail. Click on either photo to see more detail.