Life on the water can be a dramatic affair for the birds that swim there. Bad tempered neighbors can make the difference between an enjoyable swim, and a desperate defense.
This family of geese found out the hard way that that desperate defense is never off the cards. Despite their superior size and their own ferocity, the geese still found themselves under attack from two angry coots.
A Lovely Day On The Water
This patch of water was clearly home to several different kinds of aquatic fowl. Before the coots arrived on the scene, the footage showed a family of geese, complete with a mother and several tiny goslings.
So young that they were still bright yellow and more fluff than feather, the goslings were having a lovely day on the water as they learned their place in the world, safely beneath the wings of their mother.
King Of The Castle
That same mother goose soon found herself standing atop her nest, guarding it from the smaller coots that had swum closer and were clearly preparing themselves for an attack.
Posturing is a common part of conflict in the animal kingdom, where infection can make even a small injury potentially fatal. The imposing presence of the goose could not dissuade these coots, however, and they continued their approach.
It’s unclear exactly what had caused animosity between the two birds. During breeding season coots can get aggressive and attack other birds, including young chicks and their nests, but a goose is a bold target.
Coordinated Assault
There were two coots and they moved in concert with one another, approaching the goose as it stood firm on its nest, and then launching themselves out of the water to attack from two directions at once.
With its wings spread out defensively, the goose dwarfed its attackers in size and cut an imposing figure against the invaders. It was able to withstand multiple attempts to dislodge it from its position, but ultimately it couldn’t continue.
One coot was relentless in its attack, and it eventually forced the larger bird into retreat,as it abandoned its nest and fled far enough that the coots didn’t give chase.
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A Victorious Bird
The coots didn’t appear to try and capitalize on this victory and were content to let the larger bird flee the scene. Once the goose had been driven away, the coots continued to swim around almost idly.
Perhaps they were testing their opponent to see if the goose would return once it thought the coast was clear, or they just needed a few moments to recover after their attack.
Although the goose had been driven away, the little goslings were safe from any kind of attack, as they were seen in later footage swimming around in a large group and skimming insects from the surface of the water.
If the coots had been hoping to catch the entire family they’d timed their attack poorly. They had, however, provided an exciting and high stakes sighting.