| INFO:
| "This is the male of the pair of Coots from the nesting pair in the previous image, in front of Ivy South Hide. There was a bit of an ongoing dispute between him and a male Great Crested Grebe which was coming in close to the hide to catch the abundant small fish there - a couple of times they came close to actual fighting (see other Great Crested Grebe images).
I'd seen the grebe in fishing, and the Coot male was pottering around nearby - when I saw the Coot looking agitatedly down into the water I reckoned the grebe was there and that there might be some action, so I quickly moved to a window nearer to it. However, all that occurred was a bit of turbulent water around the Coot and he hopped and pirouetted around a few times, obviously as the grebe pecked at him from underwater - quite hilarious really! No sign of the grebe in any of the several images I took, but after half a minute he surfaced a few metres away - and, anthropomorphic or not, I swear that as he swam away and glanced back over his shoulder he seemed to have a smug "that'll teach you to mess with me" look about him!"
May 2011 (Ivy South Hide)
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