Birdwatch: why coots and their 'friends' are worth a closer look

The 'funny black ducks' from my youth are often near a gadwall - and I was shocked to learn whyI have a soft spot for coots, because almost 60 years ago, when I was a young child, they kick-started my life as a birder.As I mentioned in an early Guardian column, this began when my mother took me down to feed the birds by the River Thames at Laleham, and I asked her what those "funny black ducks" were. Continue reading...