The coot wars have begun, as they do every year at about this time. A coot, for those of you unfamiliar with the breed, is a small black water bird with a distinctive white face – and disproportionately large yellow-green legs and feet. Their claws are long, curved and murderously sharp. A coot is, in other words, a pocket-sized killing machine. This week on the water Every animal on earth, even the meekest herbivore, is moved to violence when it comes to the mating season. It’s obviously...