Althouse: The sound of coots at dawn, on Lake Mendota.

January 4, 2024

The sound of coots at dawn, on Lake Mendota.

They almost seem to be barking.

ADDED: Those are, mostly, coots in the video, but I don't think the sound is coming from the coots. I think it's the ducks/geese that float amongst them.

20 comments:

Original Mike said...: Sounds like there's a goose in there.; 1/4/24, 11:38 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Yeah, they are mostly coots, but ducks and geese will tag along with them.; 1/4/24, 11:47 AM
robother said...: Don't sound like coots to me; ducks or geese, maybe. I thought coots are mostly silent in winter.; 1/4/24, 11:56 AM
Kevin said...: I was expecting old people.; 1/4/24, 11:58 AM
tim in vermont said...: At night in Florida, the moorhens in the swamp out back sound like monkeys from a Tarzan movie.; 1/4/24, 12:22 PM
rcocean said...: birds of a feather do not float together.; 1/4/24, 1:02 PM
Whiskeybum said...: I was expecting to hear a bit of conversation, like "Darn kids these days... get off my pond!"; 1/4/24, 1:06 PM
Omaha1 said...: Snow geese sound like barking dogs. Some are gray instead of white. But if you hear them flying overhead, you can tell them from Canada geese by the sound.; 1/4/24, 1:14 PM
Enigma said...: Coots have the weirdest feet!

https://rollingharbourlife.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/coot-showing-feet-keith-salvesen.jpg

Old people can have weird feet too. I'm DEI inclusive.; 1/4/24, 1:15 PM
Oligonicella said...: Ducks. The coot.; 1/4/24, 1:38 PM
Birdwatcher said...: Nice video. I think robother's comment is correct.; 1/4/24, 2:07 PM
wendybar said...: School shooting in Iowa today.

End Wokeness
@EndWokeness

The mass shooter at Perry High has been identified as Dylan Butler

It appears that the shooter was an online LGBTQ activist & part of the community

Watch the story disappear in 3.. 2.. 1..

https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1742970546071941392?s=20; 1/4/24, 2:13 PM
wendybar said...: Kevin said...
I was expecting old people.

1/4/24, 11:58 AM

Thread winner!! Funny!!; 1/4/24, 2:14 PM
MadTownGuy said...: There were three alerts on the online scanner app today for shootings. The first one disappeared from the list; besides the one in Iowa, there was one in Goldsboro NC. Very often there are shootings and/or manhunts in Indianapolis metro, at least three per week.

No doubt this will be a news op for gun control activists, but I'll reserve judgment until more facts are known.; 1/4/24, 3:05 PM
gilbar said...: Authorities identify 17-year-old shooter who killed 1, wounded 5 in Perry school shooting
a sixth-grade student at Perry Middle School, which is connected to the high school, was killed in the shooting.
Five others, four students and a Perry school administrator, are being treated at local hospitals. One is in critical condition, Mortvedt said, and four others are in stable condition.
Perry High School principal Dan Marburger was identified as one of the injured victims

here's a pix, from Dylan's (now scrubbed) tiktok page:Another image from the Iowa shooter’s now deleted tiktok account says “love your trans kids.” Watch this story disappear.; 1/4/24, 4:49 PM
gilbar said...: MadTownGuy said...
No doubt this will be a news op for gun control activists, but I'll reserve judgment until more facts are known.

looks like the queer in Perry used a shotgun, and a small caliber handgun.. NOT SURE, how they're going to advocate banning Those
Mitch Mortvedt, with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, said Butler used a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun to carry out the attack. Butler died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to officials.; 1/4/24, 5:21 PM
Rusty said...: Yes. Those sounds are ducks and geese.; 1/4/24, 6:39 PM
Josephbleau said...: I am afraid, someone help me. This is a goddam coot insurection! Someone please prevent them from being on the primary ballot!! The 14th Amendment!!!; 1/4/24, 9:25 PM
Enigma said...: @gilbar used a shotgun, and a small caliber handgun.. NOT SURE, how they're going to advocate banning Those

If AR-15s go away, the crazies will move to highly capable alternative guns.

Standard handguns such as common Glocks have been used in many mass shootings. While less lethal than rifles, they are plenty lethal and more concealable too. Some recent gun ban efforts have shifted from asinine "assault weapons" concept to much broader semiautomatic gun bans. This is happening decades after pro gun groups fully communicated that cosmetic assault weapons laws were ridiculous way back in the 1980s and 1990s.

Shotguns and common hunting rifles are both far, far, far, far, far more lethal than the AR-15. The AR-15 uses the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge (a twin of the .223 Rem) -- it was considered a "mouse gun" by military shooters upon its introduction in the 1960s. The .22 caliber bullets were originally used for hunting small animals like coyotes and rodents. They proved to have just enough power for military combat and were lighter for carrying around. They were once considered too small for hunting deer, but this has changed with newer bullet designs.

Of course Grandpa Joe thinks pipsqueak 9mm handguns can blow the lungs clean out of the body, and that you cannot legally own a cannon (you can order a real cannon by mail with no background check). Ignorance is bliss. Pride about ignorance of guns has a way of making opponents look foolish. Guns are often not what they think they are.; 1/5/24, 5:53 AM
Rusty said...: A 2 3/4 inch 12 Ga. 00 buckshot cartidge has 9 9mm lead balls. At anything under 30 yards it is a deadly round. That is why it is preferred as a home defense round because it isn't likely to be lethal through a wall. The average shotgun with the plug removed can hold five of these rounds. 45 9mm lead balls.; 1/5/24, 9:14 AM