Coot Appeal

I'm on a mission. I must learn all there is to know about coots. I'm doing this for my friend, Jack Parker, who set out on the assignment several years ago for his friend Jim Fenton. Jim wanted to know from whence the coots migrated before arriving in droves and dotting the waters of Lake Pend Oreille.

Since Jim wanted to know, Jack suggested that the local daily blat do a feature on coots. Jack told me in a recent conversation that he put in his request five years ago. The story never appeared, and, sadly, his friend Jim died a few months ago, not knowing about the coots.

I promised Jack I'd do what I could to find coot data. Shortly after our visit, I had a brilliant idea. J.J. Scott writes for The River Journal. J.J. is a local game warden. He oughta know about coots. So, I wrote him an email and suggested he do a coot column.

Well, J.J. never wrote back. I've seen two River Journals since and no coots. But they're still out there on the lake, and people like Jack and me are still wondering about their migratory habits.

Yesterday, while at the museum, I brought up the subject to some learned historians and archeologists. One, whose name I shall not divulge, told me that the coots hibernate deep in the sands around the shoreline. Suddenly, one day they just pop up and appear all over the lake waters doing dumb things so that people will ask about them.

I don't know if this theory is true. Being a journalist, my skeptical side has me still in doubt. So, I appeal today to all readers of Slightdetour.Blogspot to please enlighten me on coots and all their clandestine habits.

Either send me an email at malove@imbris.net or record your data on the comments section of this blog. I'll publish all theories and scoop the Daily Bee------and J.J.

Then, I'll go tell Jack.