Through October new migrant coots arrive early in the morning. They are hungry and thirsty after flying all night, but mostly are shy and wary, wondering how they may survive in the marina. Newcomers are easily recognized while they are holding their heads up and keeping their eyes wide open looking around.

Another new migrant coot arrived in the morning darkness of October 5. Beaky paddled around his territory with her that morning. Other coots were reported as sighted in the marina near the end of September, and twenty to thirty coots are in the Sweetwater estuary.

The new female was here for one day, although not so wild as the previous one in September, was gone the next day.

She was able to eat a cracker, but was probably horrified of the conditions here and couldn't cope with monsters handing out free food.

A mated pair of coots arrived on October 9. Like the others, they are gone the next day.

On October 11 two more female coots arrived early in the morning. One was the wild female shown at the right. She is wild and wary and can only be fed with difficulty.

By the middle of the month, she is well trained and establishes a leadership position among the new arrivals.

At the end of October it is clear that she has exceptional abilities.

The other coot was Monday, Beaky's female companion from last winter. She recognizes me, and climbs up the steps to drink water from the cup. She takes food from my hand but is a bit nervous.

Comparison with photographs from last year show similar shapes in her upper mandible and frontal shield. Her tarsal color is consistent with her age. The similarity of the feather pattern around the posterior end of the exposed upper mandible is distinctive. The way her undertail white coverts have been exposed is similar. It can't be anyone else.

Beaky chases Monday (left) away and the new wild female helps him. Beaky and the wild female spend much of the morning together. Both females are still here the next day.

The new female sees Monday as the main obstacle between her and the food. She chases Monday away from the boat. She also has remarkable athletic ability and tenacity. She is very intelligent or perhaps cunning. She follows me around the docks and anticipates where I am going, instead of getting lost between boats as Beaky does.

Fortunately, she immediately understands what I want and stays away from the boat. She learns that she will only be fed at the far end of the dock, or on the other side away from Beaky's territory.

Beaky is slow to accept Monday at his feeding dish and will bite her if he can. Monday persists in eating at the boat in spite of his pecking her since she has no other choice. As was the case last winter, she is mostly fed by hand.

The gulls still threaten the coots at the boat, and force them to scatter in all directions. The spotted bass adds to their terror, appearing to eat lost crumbs, but seems the least of their problems. The bass also eats the super worms.

This juvenile gull has been seen attacking the coots and has become a serious threat. All the gulls seem unusually aggressive and destructive now.

The gulls seem organized and the only solution is to make sure they don't get any food. Often this means hand-to-beak feeding, as the coots may be too afraid to put their heads down to eat from a dish.

This gull has somehow gotten a mackerel, and is eviscerating it and eating it.

Some of the gulls use their powerful beaks to strip mussel shells off the docks and pilings. They open them on the concrete surface.

The grebe with the piebald beak has been here since early September, and is the only pied-billed grebe so far. This bird is a "floater" and usually sleeps in the water between docks F and G.

This picture (right) shows the bird's right leg being stretched, revealing the foot.

At the end of October the bird's bill is losing its piebald colors.

Military and commercial aircraft fly over the marina on their approach to North Island runway 27.

The first flocks of these winter resident birds arrived October 25. About seventy total birds of both species combined were seen on the bay. None appear in the marina yacht basin yet.

These two wild coots were the first birds able to climb the riprap this winter. They ascended to the sidewalk on October 26 in spite of the loss of ice plant and treatment with herbicide.

This is the wild female (right) that arrived with Monday on October 11. She has remarkable abilities of perception and strength. In one case, she was able to stop the gull from taking her cracker by swimming under the dock. She surfaced on the other side to eat in peace, invisible to the gull.

Monday likes to eat wet corn straight from the can. Beaky also joins her. At one time years ago, Beaky liked corn more than anything, but his taste changes over the years.

In fact, most wild coots that stay here for the winter won't eat corn. When placed in their beaks, they just drop it and continue looking up at you. However, some of the more liberal-minded birds like Beaky and Monday may give it a try and like it.

Want to go for a swim? Jump right in.

Beaky and Monday are slow to join as mates this year. Click on this link to see Beaky_Monday.wmv, and how Beaky sets out to nibble Monday's head. .

Monday seems afraid to nibble Beaky at first, but after a week they both are grooming each other.

By the end of October they are working together as a coordinated team to protect their territory from intruders.

It is important to a bird's health to be able to bathe and preen. Click on this link to see mondaybath.wmv, and how Monday is taking a bath.

Blackbirds squawk to be fed and then sing. Click on this link to see song.wmv, and enjoy the beautiful song of the Brewers blackbird.

Big Picture:

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Monday, the remarkably tame and patient female is back as Beaky's winter companion for a second year.

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