EF500mm f\/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nJust prior to and during\u00a0the egg-laying period\u00a0males of the species guard their mates intensely.\u00a0 Mate feeding is considered part of that behavior.\u00a0 The female, seen here, remains on the surface while her mate submerges to hunt for fish.\u00a0 When he emerges she begs loudly and enthusiastically for the fish and the fuss continues until he gives it to her.\u00a0 Here the male has just delivered the fish to his mate and she swallowed it a few seconds later.\u00a0\u00a0For me this\u00a0image begs to have the entire\u00a0reflection of the grebe in the frame but I didn’t have the room so I cropped as I did.\u00a0 The tighter crop does give us a better look at the fish.<\/p>\n
This image was taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge almost exactly a year ago (4\/28\/13).\u00a0 I reached back into my archives for this post because we had an extended power outage last night.\u00a0 I normally prepare my post images in the evening but things got a little hectic last night as I rigged up a generator to keep my fridge running and give me some light in the house but of course I had no internet.<\/p>\n
I wouldn’t have made a very good pioneer…<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Western Grebes have complex mating behaviors. Mate feeding is one of them.<\/p>\n
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![\"western](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/western-grebe-6878-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n