Hawaiian Birds
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A Mud Hen is a marsh bird with short wings and long legs that inhabits swamps or marshes. Such birds have been known as marsh hens, rails, coots, or Mud Hens.
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The plentiful American Coots (Mudhens) are all over the local refuges. When disturbed, they appear to walk across the water in a short flight to put distance between themselves and the intruder.
An American coot (Fulica americana) or mudhen swims through open water in Kern National Wildlife Refuge, California. The brown colors are the reflection of the reeds and other shoreline vegetation in the water on this late October Day during the dry season.
Obviously not shooting them for their beauty!! ...although, I do love their green legs and feet -
The American coot, also known as a mud hen or pouldeau, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers or rafts.
American Coot (Fulica americana) taking a break in the hectic pace of the breeding season and guarding it territory to roost and preen its plumage in a moderate sized wetland west of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada.
20 May, 2016.
Slide # GWB_20160520_0456.CR2
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
American Coot (Fulica americana) taking a break in the hectic pace of the breeding season and guarding it territory to roost and preen its plumage in a moderate sized wetland west of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada.
20 May, 2016.
Slide # GWB_20160520_0442.CR2
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
Mudhen 463 leads a pair of K-36's up the grade out of Chama on a photographers charter.
More photo's and video clips at
All thanks go to Jill for her amazing inspiration! :), No excess Photoshopping, Just the Lomo effect applied
Highest Explore position...#7
American coots (Fulica americana) or mudhens swims through open water in Kern National Wildlife Refuge, California.
Watching 20 tons of Mudhen following the Welsh terrain never gets old.
Four USAF F-15E Strike Eagles flown by crew of 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina nail the corner on a low-level training sortie in LFA7.
© Ben Stacey All Rights Reserved - Any use, reproduction or distribution of this image without my explicit permission is strictly prohibited.
As a steady rain falls, C&TS K-27 "Mudhen" #463, disguised as Rio Grande Southern #455, storms into Sublette, NM, during the climb from Antonito to the summit of Cumbres Pass.
USAF F-15E Strike Eagle flown by 492d Fighter Squadron of RAF Lakenheath roars past “in the mud” with a high-G turn and signature vapour over the top of the wings. Sadly a rare occurrence these days, but you’ve got to love humid afternoons in Mid-Wales when these guys are in town!
© Ben Stacey All Rights Reserved - Any use, reproduction or distribution of this image without my explicit permission is strictly prohibited.
I laid up on the bank at John Heinz NWR watching and waiting for three American Coots to make a close approach for a good image. Unfortunately they made some approaches, but not quite as close as I would have liked. So, a decent crop from the original image but still respectable detail. I never realized that the American Coot is not a duck, not sure if it is considered waterfowl to tell the truth. My understanding is that the Coot is closely related to the rails and also the Sandhill Cranes. A mud hen is its common name. View large for detail.
It is the end of the weekend. :( Cloudy and rainy most of the time here in Philly. Enjoy the evening ~!
A mud hen notices the paparazzo.
St. Augustine Beach (Crescent Beach), Florida, USA.
20 May 2022.
▶ The mud hen with her/his companion: here.
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▶ "The American coot (Fulica americana) —also known as a mud hen or pouldeau— is a migratory bird that occupies most of North America. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related, belonging to a separate order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies, and primarily eat algae and other aquatic plants."
— Wikipedia.
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▶ Photo by Yours For Good Fermentables.com.
▶ For a larger image, type 'L' (without the quotation marks).
— Follow on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.
— Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.
▶ Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
— Lens: Lumix G Vario 100-300/F4.0-5.6.
— Edit: Photoshop Elements 15, Nik Collection.
▶ Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.
The Huckleberry is laid out wonderfully from the viewpoints of photographers and model railroaders alike. Here Mudhen 464 is looping to make a return to Crossroads Village. A Lerro Productions photo charter.
Rio Grande Southern 2-8-2 K-27 No. 455 rolls toward Chama, New Mexico on Oct. 5, 2017. For the last month, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic's "Mudhen" No. 463 has been masquerading as an RGS locomotive.
The mud hen and the duck,
What an inscrutable pair!
In morning, admirals of the pond,
By night, retired to their lair.
Wildlife sanctuary pond, in...
St. Augustine Beach (Crescent Beach), Florida, USA.
2 July 2023.
▶ Their 'lair' (out-of-frame to photo right) is a bank of the pond, protected by dense, low-hanging shrubs.
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▶ "The American coot (Fulica americana) —also known as a mud hen or pouldeau— is a migratory bird that occupies most of North America. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related, belonging to a separate order.
Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies, and primarily eat algae and other aquatic plants."
— Wikipedia.
***************
▶ "The domestic duck or domestic mallard (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) is a subspecies of mallard that has been domesticated by humans and raised for meat, eggs, and down feathers. A few are also kept for show, as pets, or for their ornamental value. They were probably domesticated in Southeast Asia – most probably in Southern China – by the rice paddy-farming ancestors of modern Southeast Asians, and spread outwards from that region.
The Pekin —also known as White Pekin, American Pekin, or Long Island Duck— is an American breed of domestic duck, seven to ten pounds in weight (3 to 4.5 kg), with white feathers, an orange or pink bill, and orange feet. It derives from birds brought to the United States from China in the nineteenth century. It is now bred in many parts of the world, raised primarily for meat."
— Wikipedia.
— Wikipedia.
***************
▶ Photo by Yours For Good Fermentables.com.
▶ For a larger image, type 'L' (without the quotation marks).
— Follow on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.
— Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.
— Follow on Vero: @cizauskas.
▶ Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
— Lens: Lumix G 20/F1.7 II.
— Edit: Photoshop Elements 15, Nik Collection (2016).
▶ Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.
Former Denver, Rio Grande & Western K27 "Mudhen" #464 is ready for a day of runs at the Huckleberry Railroad at Crossroads Village in Flint, MI. In the shop are former US Army 4-6-0 #152 and center cab diesel #7.
Interested in purchasing a high-quality digital download of this photo, suitable for printing and framing? Let me know and I will add it to my Etsy Shop, MittenRailandMarine! Follow this link to see what images are currently listed for sale: www.etsy.com/shop/MittenRailandMarine
If you are interested in specific locomotives, trains, or freighters, please contact me. I have been photographing trains and ships for over 15 years and have accumulated an extensive library!
Masquerading C&TS K-27 #463 slowly moves past the under- restoration Chama stockpens while wying the daily train from Antonito, CO. There are plenty of historical inaccuracies to pick apart, but this encounter with "RGS 455" may be the closest I ever get to experiencing a little bit of Rio Grande Southern magic.
Mudhen #463 (disquised as RGS 455) takes a breather at the top of 10,000 ft Cumbres Pass as its fireman completes filling the tank with water.
Rio Grande Mudhen 464 crosses another bridge through the Rockies...or maybe it's central Michigan. A Lerro Productions photo charter.
The second-smallest steam locomotive rostered by the Cumbres & Toltec (the smallest being Ten Wheeler #168), K-27 "Mudhen" #463, sits outside of the Antonito engine house on a pleasant October afternoon. The smallest and most numerous class of narrow gauge Mikados on the DRGW, the Mudhens were originally built as Vulcan compounds before being simpled a few years later. Of the original 15, #463 and #464 are the only survivors. #463 is fully operational for the C&TS but on this day was sitting cold outside. With the season almost over, it was not needed to cover the 3 trains that were running that day.
Mudhens, AKA, American Coot, were in abundance this morning at my favorite local lake park. What I couldn't quite get over was the two-tones of the water. Happy weekend, all, and stay warm!
Photo taken near Arcata, California - March 2024
The Pacific Ocean is just beyond the line of sand dunes to the left of the photo, and a passing rain storm had just cleared.
I caught this bunch of mud hens (coot) launching themselves all in unison to parts unknown.
Usually I see one or two coot swimming around, but rarely a whole raft of them. This is only a portion of that raft, and it was just plain luck that I was on hand when they all burst up out of the water.
Taken on a recent walk, on a day with good clouds, at Santee Lakes. This has all of the elements that I like to have in an infrared image - clouds, sky, water, and vegetation.
This is an infrared image taken with my converted Nikon D300 camera. I've been taking infrared photographs for more than 15 years, and with a total of 3 different cameras. It's much easier to take infrared images digitally that it was in the film days. If you like this look, I have an album of infrared photographs, creatively named Infrared.
www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157600507865146/
Santee Lakes is a great place to photograph migratory birds in the winter, dragonflies during spring and summer and infrared all year round. I've taken a lot of pictures there which are in my Infrared album.
A Denver & Rio Grande Western freight rounds the curve just north of Big Horn Peak at Milepost 299.7, as it works east toward Antonito, CO and eventually, Alamosa. The road engine this afternoon is the 1903-vintage, K-27 Mikado #463, with an ancient T-12 10-wheeler #167 helping on the point.
This image was captured during an October 2024 photo shoot on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, organized by Lerro Photography. This particular day the featured power was a re-creation of a 1930-era lash-up including the only operable survivor of the T-12 Class, the #168, lettered and configured as her long-lost sister #167, and the venerable K-27 "Mudhen" #463. Originally, the 1883-era, T-12 engines had box-type headlights, but by 1930, most of the survivors would have been configured with a Pyle National headlamp, like the one see in this image.
Pouring out a frosty, white exhaust plume, the former Denver & Rio Grande Western K-27 "Mudhen" #464 hauls an excursion train east off the little trestle on the outskirts of Genesee Township during a January 2019 photo shoot on Michigan's Huckleberry Railroad.
The little bridge pictured here crosses a small bay on the northern shore of C.S. Mott Lake, a 3.5 mile long, man-made lake created in 1972 to provide recreational opportunities in the region, just northeast of the City of Flint, MI. The narrow gauge, Huckleberry Railroad essentially runs along the north shore of the lake from the Crossroads Village on the west end, to the E. A. Cummings Center just east of the town of Genesee. The railroad has turning loops at either end, and operates a lot like a gigantic model train set. When the train leaves Crossroads Station, it never needs to stop at any place until it arrives back where it started....and unlike many tourist lines, the power is always facing forward.
Photo taken from private property with the kind permission of the land owner.