MOORHENS are fighting in the reeds. They are beginning to set up their spring territories and, like their relatives the coots, can be very fierce with intruders. The males of both species will sometimes seize a rival by the neck and hold its head down under water until it drowns. They are common birds, and can often be heard making their harsh, rippling calls from small, half-hidden roadside ponds as well as from lakes and rivers.
They come out on to land in order to feed much more readily than the coots, and will venture far out into farmland fields. They scuttle back very quickly when disturbed, flicking their cocked tails, which have white edges like flashing warning lights. At a distance they look black, but in fact their back is dark brown with an olive tinge and their head and underparts are more of a bluish-grey. They have a red forehead and beak, and the beak has a yellow tip.
Some pairs nest early every year, building nests of dead reeds well out from the bank and laying large clutches of mottled eggs. Some downy chicks have already been seen out on the water.
DJM