During the winter months Clear Lake often experiences fish die-offs and such was the case this past weekend when several hundred minnows of all species died at Lakeside County Park. I checked the area Saturday and Sunday and found more than 100 minnows floating on the surface. There were also a number of other minnows swimming erratically.
What drew the attention of people at the park was that many of the minnows were missing their heads. In other words, something was biting off the heads of the minnows. It turned out that a group of coots were feeding on the minnows and biting off the heads. The coots were swallowing the heads and leaving the bodies. A wildlife biologist told me the most likely reason the coots were only eating the heads was because the heads were small enough for the coots to swallow and the bodies were too large.
What killed the minnows is unknown. It appeared to be in a small area and the die-off was over by Sunday. The only way of finding out the cause would be to take a water sample and a minnow sample and send them to a laboratory.
The coot is an interesting bird. It’s common throughout Clear Lake and the West. Even though it resembles a duck, it’s not. It is a member of the raillidae family. Their official name is American Coot but they are often called mud hens. A group of coots is called a “raft.” They will eat vegetation, insects and small fish. They migrate at night. Since they migrate at night they often run into power lines and are killed. The waterfowl refuges in the Sacramento Valley hold thousands of coots and many die by flying into the many power lines in the area.
One area in Lake County where low flying coots have gotten in trouble is the bridge over Rodman Slough at the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff. A few years ago I counted more a dozen dead coots on the bridge. The coots would leave the lake and fly to Rodman Slough. Since they were flying at night they didn’t see the bridge and hit the railings.
Coots often nest on Clear Lake and one of their favorite nesting areas are the tules near Long Tule Point. Both parents build the floating nest out of tules and other aquatic weeds. They lay up to nine eggs but only two or three chicks will survive to adulthood. What is unusual is that when the chicks are hatched they have a bright orange head. Their head turns black in about eight days. Studies have shown that the mother will pay more attention to the chick with the brightest-colored head, which means it has a better chance of surviving. The mothers also have the ability to identify their chicks from other coot chicks. Most coots live about five years and the oldest coot on record lived to be 22 years old.
Coots differ from ducks and other waterfowl by their feet, which have lobed toes instead of webbed ones. They can run and walk but are not strong fliers. To get into the air they have to run across the water for up to 20 yards. They have few enemies. Both bald eagles and golden eagles prey on coots. Otters will kill the chicks.
Coots are classified as waterfowl and as game birds. Their season is the same as for ducks and geese and the daily limit is 25 birds with 75 in possession. Most hunters don’t kill coots because they aren’t considered good eating. Their flesh tends to be dry and tough.
The coot is just another fascinating part of the wildlife that abounds at Clear Lake.
