The most marvelous flock of marsh hens...

They're awfully cute... :wave:

Awww... I want some marsh hens!

Haha! I like the ones where their little butts are up in the air...

Any gators in Eastern Lake that would like to make a meal out of them? 😱

Haven't seen one in a while, but I'm sure there are... It's their lake, too...

I just REALLY love your sensationalistic thread headline... thought maybe you were redefining & finessing the grayter term: "wenches"...
(bottom-line: the marsh hens are cute too!).

They are cute, thanks for sharing!! :wub:

yesterday Hubby comes home and tells me he had a strange bird at his building today. There's a huge pond nearby. He said the bird kind of looked 'duck-ish' but the feet weren't really webbed and that the bird acted drunk walking around the parking lot. Then it staggered into the parking garage where it tried to go through some lattice and got stuck. So he rescued it from the lattice, and took it over to the pond where all his buddies were. I showed him these pics and he said "that's it! that's the bird!"

So thanks Kitlit for the education! You helped solve the mystery! :lol:

I've always known of the bird as an "American Coot," which will play right with DuneAhh's thoughts on wenches. More and more are making their way to South Walton for the winter. I've seen them on every lake I've crossed on 30A.

It's amazing how fast they can swim without webbed feet. They are as fast as ducks.

You're right, SJ, "Coot" is the proper name--marsh hen is just a nickname. As far as the wenches go, well... you said it, not me... :lol:

I've never really seen them in such large numbers before, I've seen one or two but this flock had about 30 or so birds--just awesome.

My dad tells me that my great uncles used to hunt them, way back. They're awfully fun to watch, chasing each other around, and diving underwater then popping back up... :wub: