A ‘raft’ of Coots may be a stretch here. Raft is a term for a tight group of Coots feeding along the edge of a marsh. These birds swam a little, and walked a little. Technically rafts are swimming Coots.

If not a raft, certainly a ‘commotion’, or flock. Grouping together in long lines confuses predators. Even better this group had a Gallinule… AKA marsh chicken. Good decoy I would think.

The background here was horrid for photographs. Specks of dried green ‘stuff’ was everywhere, including on the birds. Not like you can pickup and move the old Coots. (bad pun)

A commotion of Coots can have over a thousand birds. The most in this one may have been 50.

This was the most Coot I have seen in this marsh. However, late fall and winter are when they gather so I should not be surprised.

All the while I was shooting them I kept scanning the far tree line. Bald Eagles are common right here, just not while I was there.

Charleston, South Carolina.