One more identification

I know this top photo is not in focus, but is this a blue-winged teal? I think it is from my book and also from googling it.
I am embarrassed to tell this, but it had not dawned on me that the bird below is the female version of the blackbird. It sort of made me wonder when they act so much alike, but I had never thought to look it up. But when googling red-winged blackbird, it appears several times.
I would hate to have to count the number of red-winged blackbirds out at the strip pit. I think it would be an impossible task. They are everywhere you look.
Two fellow bloggers, Tom and Leedra, identified the questionable bird in yesterday's post as the grebe, pied-billed grebe by Tom...Leedra just called it a grebe. Now if someone would just identify the one Sunday's post...I have also ran into pictures of sandpipers and sandpiper like birds that are similiar to it.

Today was a windy day...it felt like the wind came direct off an iceberg. It was dark and dreary to begin with, the sun came out for a bit and then back to dark and dreary. If I had not had things to do, I would have went out to the strip pits just to watch the changing skies.

Coots - ??

I saw coots day before yesterday....got two or three fairly good pictures. When I was doing the slide show for Roger, we viewed the one above and I clicked to go forward and he says to go back.
I did not notice this other one with them till he said that. Is it a coot also? To me it seems totally different to the others...there was at least 12 or so of the others and only this single fellow. The shape of its head seems different, along with the coloring. It is interesting seeing all these water birds. Where I grew up, we didn't see many ducks or geese. We did not have the right habitat for them I suppose.

No identity on the bird yesterday...I did get out my Audubon Society field guide to birds and am more confused than ever concerning yesterdays bird as well as the above.