Three days ago at Bear River MBR was yet another day when the back-brooding Western and Clark’s Grebes stole the show. The only thing different from previous, similar days was the difficulty they were having holding onto the fish they were eating themselves or feeding to their youngsters.
And as you’d expect, the kiddos were having more difficulty than the adults.
This is the male of a mated pair of Western Grebes soon after he caught a small fish that was intended for the single chick on his mate’s back.
Sometimes he gave the fish he caught directly to the youngster but other times he gave it to his mate, who then had the option to eat it herself or give it to the chick. Usually the chick got it.
The transfer from adult male to adult female went smoothly.
The chick was eager for a meal, maybe a little too eager because soon after he got the fish ‘he’…
dropped it into the water.
But Mom came to the rescue and retrieved it.
Let’s try again.
Oops. Someone, Mom or Junior, dropped it again. From what I could tell from my photos it could have been either one.
Mom to the rescue once more.
This time she seemed to be more careful and deliberate while giving it to the chick and he managed to hold on to it and eventually…
he gobbled it down.
The chick actually dropped the fish two other times that I haven’t documented in these photos. I haven’t included those shots because they weren’t very good and/or they didn’t document the fish-fumbling very well. Besides, that would be too many photos and take too much time. I do have a life…
This particular fish was larger than most fish I saw being fed to chicks this age so maybe the size of the fish had something to do with how many times it was dropped. But no matter their size, all fish are slippery.
Ron
Note: I haven’t included image techs with these photos because they’re nothing to emulate. I had way more shutter speed than I needed (1/8000) so I should have changed my settings. In the excitement of the moment I just spaced it out.
The 8th photo in the series really made me laugh! The fish has its mouth open and looks like it’s yelling back at mom and baby (though I’m guessing it may no longer have been alive by that point). Thanks for the great shots!
What a fun series of photos! I’ll go to sleep smiling now.
Awww. This is a totally delightful series. My klutzy self would certainly have dropped the fish (probably several times) which added to the charm.
Glad you like it, EC. Thanks.
Wonderful series. I love the look on the parents face and eyes when they are feeding chicks. It is very loving and concerned the chick is eating, and I don’t feel I am anthropomorphizing.
Thanks, April. I don’t think you are either.
Delightful series! I’m guessing you had a lot of fun with this little family. The first post-fish-fumble shot is my favorite. You caught them at the perfect “Oh, shit!” moment! 😂 I’m also imagining the youngster saying, “Get it, Mom! Get it!” in the 3rd shot from the bottom. Glad he got his breakfast down the hatch eventually.
“Glad he got his breakfast down the hatch eventually.”
“Eventually is the key word there, Marty. It took him a long time. I don’t think he could swallow a fish much larger.
Excellent and heartwarming series – thanks!
Thanks, Burrdoo.
Like learning to use chopsticks! 🥢😋
Pretty close.
Simply adorable! Have never seen Grebes in person let alone seeing parents water taxi their kids on their backs! Love your comment about how loud the youngsters are when the taxi service ends! Typical ‘teenager.’ LOL
Kathleen, they’re not loud because the taxi service ends. They’re loud because they’re hungry. When they get that big they seem to always be hungry, and loud.
TY!!!
What a sensational series,thanks for sharing!
Charlotte Norton
Thank you, Charlotte.
What an outstanding series Ron. Beautifully done. Very educational and with Grebes something I have never witnessed. Wonder how long it takes for the juveniles to fend for themselves?
Really neat to witness wildlife young rapidly grow up and take responsibility for themselves.
Regarding fishing, recently I had fun experiences watching and taking photos of a Double-crested Cormorant taking about 45 minutes to take down a huge Channel Catfish, and then at another lake the same thing with a Great Blue Heron who took almost the same amount of time to also get down a very large Catfish.
“Wonder how long it takes for the juveniles to fend for themselves?”
Everett, most parental care ceases after about six weeks.
Your cormorant and heron must have been really hungry.
Very good capture of amusing (for us) behavior! Thanks for the morning laughter.
Thanks, Kathryn.
Wonderful series, Ron! Just what I needed this morning. Thanks for being there!
Thank you, Diane.
Both of the post-drop photos made me laugh because of the perfectly
aligned dropped heads of chick and mom–you could almost see a
“thought balloon” above them with an unmentionable expletive inside !
Hmmm, in the future I might have to consider adding some of those thought balloons to my photos. I’m pretty fluent in unmentionable expletives.
Fun even if serious business for the Grebes……. 😉 The “learning curve” in action! Appears the kids are getting big enough that they won’t be hitching a ride much longer……
Judy, some of them are already too big to use their parents as taxis. And man, are they ever noisy when they get that big.
These photos and the narrative accompanying them made me giggle more than once! Thanks for a few moments of entertainment this morning, Ronnie.
Good! I know you well enough that I can hear you giggling in my head.
Nice documentation, and beautiful. Like how the ripples in the water made by the mother WG frame the shots. And that last photo with mom looking almost straight into the camera with her hear tilted down really accentuates the interesting drawn-out triangular shape that the feathers, head and beak of the bird form.
Thanks, Michael. Maybe I should have mentioned the shape of her crest. It’s typically referred to as “triangular shaped” but that shape is often difficult to see, in part because their crest isn’t always erected.
Charming AND utterly amusing: a perfect way to begin a new, overly hot week! I’m so glad you’re out there to capture these images for us!
Thanks, Shoreacres. We’re supposed to have a cool-down this week. The monsoons are finally coming.