One day, while visiting the banks of a pond in the Netherlands with several others, Ingrid Koetzier noticed movements in a flower bed on the opposite shore. The bright yellow daffodils there were rustling to and fro, as if by a strong breeze. But it wasn’t the wind.
As Koetzier and the others looked on, a black-and-white bird then emerged with a long-stemmed flower between his beak.
He was on a mission of love:
Turns out the bird, a Eurasian coot, was collecting materials to build a nest with his mate. Coots are known to divide the labor during nest-building, with males gathering materials and females arranging them to form the nest.
Rather than bringing back just sticks and twigs, however, this coot had returned time and time again with flowers
to create a beautiful and cozy home bouquet.
“He's bringing flowers for his wife!” one commenter wrote. “How sweet!”
Eurasian coots often form long-term pair bonds, returning to the same nesting areas together year after year. So this likely won’t be the last time the little pond boasts a floral display — all thanks to one very cute coot couple.
