Today I made a cycling trip in the neighbourhood. I was actually going for the tulip fields that are in bloom at the moment (I did take some photos of those as well by the way), but when walking through one of the field I spotted a nest of coots.

Coots are water birds that are very common over here. They are almost completely black but they have a white beak and forehead. Their chicks on the other hand have a bald red head. They look more like vultures than their parents.

I spotted six little chicks who were protected by both their parents. I think they were born today or maybe yesterday since they were really small. And there even were some more eggs in the nest.

The parents were very protective. As I was laying in the grass on the side of the ditch it was fine with the parents, but as soon as I got up to leave they rushed at me.

Some of the new-born coots stayed safely on the nest, but some of the others already went into the water to follow their parents.

The parents were constantly looking for food which they brought to their chicks.

I hope you liked my shots 😊
And a happy earth day!