- Occasionally I recycle a favorite older post that very few current readers have seen. This one was published over 4 1/2 years ago on November 18, 2012. For this version I’ve rewritten some of the text and tweaked the formatting.
This past June I spent a great deal of time with Western and Clark’s Grebes as they were raising their families at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
1/2000. f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
The two species are quite similar but the adult birds in this post can be recognized as Clark’s Grebes as opposed to Western Grebes by their bright yellow-orange bills and the fact that their eyes are surrounded by white plumage, rather than black.
This female of a mated pair was fishing for her family as the male back-brooded two chicks (the sexes take turns with each chore). I happened to catch her just as she emerged from the water with a fish and shook the water off. I wish I had better eye contact and a little more room around the grebe but this image is full frame.
I include it here because it’s the logical beginning of this “fish story”.
1/2000. f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Seconds later she swam over to deliver the fish to her family. Sometimes the fish will be given to the brooding parent, who may eat it or give it to a chick. Other times the fishing parent gives it directly to one of the youngsters. Either way if the chicks are hungry they become very excited and aggressive in their attempts to be the one who gets the fish.
Before these young birds saw breakfast coming their way they were tucked down peacefully under each wing of their parent with only their heads and necks sticking out. But when they spotted the fish all that changed in an instant.
1/2000. f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Both chicks have their eyes on the prize.
1/2000. f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
So much so that one of the chicks is in danger of falling into the drink.
1/2000. f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Which is exactly what happened.
1/2500. f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
In fact it was completely dunked and disappeared under the water so the other youngster got the fish.
Many folks don’t notice the sexual dimorphism of grebes (Western or Clark’s) but it’s really pretty easy to tell the sexes apart if you’re relatively close to the birds. Males are larger and their bill is longer and much thicker than that of the female so in this photo the male is the bird on the right.
Ron
Simply amazing shots!
Typically I am off-line all weekend, (a self-imposed rule for an avid handyman and gardener) so I miss commenting on these. It is now Tuesday, after a long-weekend in Canada, and I hope my late reply will be posted. I always look forward to Ron’s pictures and narratives and all of the contributor comments. There is always something to marvel at and learn from. Thanks again for sharing! I love the candid intimacy and fun of this Grebe family.
Have to say, I’m with Laura, I’d have liked to see just one more shot with the dunked one returned safely to papa’s back. Especially because it does appear it was the smaller of the pair and probably needed that fish more than its sib did. [sigh]. But they are all wonderful images, the bird world never ceases to amaze me — thank you for the intimate views of Grebe family life.
Delightful series of photos. Thank you for sharing them since I am a newbie to your blog.
Elizabeth
Great replay, Ron! I feel a little bad for “Mr. Eager Beaver” who landed in the drinkoroonie — he seemed to be the smaller of the two chicks too. I can just see the “next” frame with him popping up, all wet, like: I meant to do that! I’ve come to quite like Grebes because the back brooding chicks are so adorable!
Patty’s comment about the old 60s Caddies was timely — I was thinking about the “family boat” (my mom’s 1962 Bonneville) last night and actually Googled some pics. That thing was a tank and a half, even if it didn’t have fins like the old Caddies or my grandmother’s ’61 Impala 2-door.
Hope all your test results come back WNL, Ron!
We had a 63 Buick Roadmaster and it was big but not quite the size of my uncles 59 Caddie – it was huge. With fins.
They don’t make ’em like that anymore. (Good grief, I feel old!)
This is a joy and a delight from start to finish.
Thank you so much.
And I love that the greed(iest) youngster was dunked AND missed out on the prize.
Cross species behaviour is so much more common than many of us admit.
Thank you, EC.
Mom seems to be keeping an eye on the chick that dunked in the last photo. Excited to see this years offspring. Hopefully the weather will hold out for tomorrow morning for me.
I looked for you “out there” today, April. It was a nice morning up there.
I was going to go to BRMBR this am but I woke up with a head cold, comes with being a teacher in elementary, and I thought it might be crowded between it being Saturday and the Bird Festival. I have a wide variety of birds in my yard today, I am enjoying my morning coffee outside watching my feeders. I do watch for you and Mia when I am up north.
So what happened with the dunked young’un? You gotta put an end to this story!
What a terrific sequence and what gorgeous birds! I’m particularly thankful for your series of shots, no matter the species. What glorious slices of time. I just LOVE them!
Yet again, OH WOW!
Sorry, I don’t remember, Laura – it was too long ago. But it must not have been anything memorable or I’d have kept those shots too.
The only thing I could do when I saw the shot was say “oh!, wow!”. Wonderful!
Thank you, Frank.
I’m with Rocky…I Love the reruns…these funny, super-eager chicks remind me of the 60’s (?) Cadillacs with those crazy-looking protrusions. A pompous, unpopular, womanizing uncle had one of those cars—he was very proud of it. I made a bra for it. When he discoved it on his car in the morning, AFTER driving through town and to his office,he was NOT pleased…(but my sister, aunt and I were!)…
You rascal you, Patty!
You GO, Patty! Brava! Brava! I LOVE it! 😀
Really glad you reran this post. The behavior is priceless. We could probably all afford to learn from the chick who fell into the water…
Glad to hear you enjoyed the rerun, Susan. Thanks.
Love the shots, and thanks for the education. Babies are always so sweet!
“Babies are always so sweet!”
Agreed, Jean – except for the human babies screaming in the grocery store…
Most human babies look like Winston Churchill, or worse, Karl Rove…and, unfortunately, are NOT soft and fuzzy….I’d like them better if they were…and were a lot quieter…….
Yes, I should have excluded human babies who are often just funny-looking AND obnoxious 🙂
I’m still laughing at the voracity with which those youngsters lunged for the food. I know the feeling! Of course, there’s a lesson in ‘keeping one’s seat’ here, too.
Thanks for this delightful series.
Alison, I was actually laughing at them when I saw the dunk! Probably missed some interesting shots because of it.
Loved this series. Hope the other baby was Ok…Hope to see you ar RRL.
Hey, sounds like you’re planning to be back this summer! We hope to see you up there too, Marilyn.
I didn’t know that about the size difference, thank you. Great set of pics! Thank you
Judy, that size is difficult to judge unless you’re looking at both sexes at the same time.
Great behavioral shots Ron, and thanks for the dimorphism tip!
Hope your Dr. visit was successful.
Thank you, Dick.
Sensational series Ro9!!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
Cute! Food is the great motivator among the young of any species. 🙂 Glad you captured them and got this great sequence!
Ha, Food’s a pretty darned good motivator for this old geezer too, Judy!