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<\/p>\nResearchers have named at least six different diving methods\u00a0of Pied-billed Grebes but I find this one to be the most entertaining to watch. When they want to employ this diving method they change their buoyancy\u00a0by expelling air from their air sacs and also by flattening their feathers against their bodies which squeezes air from between their feathers. This reduces their specific gravity and they sink like a rock.<\/p>\n
I see the behavior fairly often and have finally learned to recognize some signals that they’re about to do it which has allowed me to photograph this diving technique several times – the latest was at Farmington Bay two days ago.<\/p>\n
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1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The grebe stopped in the water and watched my pickup intensely with the front of its body low in the water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n When it raised its rear end up slightly I knew it was probably about to dive so I fired off a quick burst beginning with this shot (compare the elevation of the tail in these first two images to recognize one of\u00a0the signals). These last 4 photos are sequential images in the burst that lasted\u00a0.4 of a second.\u00a0The side light isn’t ideal in the photos but you’ll get the idea.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n At this point only the head and tail are visible as the bird sinks in place.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Then only the top of the head and the very tip of the tail…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n and then the bird\u00a0disappeared below the surface with only the well in the water indicating where the sinking head had been.<\/p>\n This was a quick dive but they can do it very gradually too (in fact this type of\u00a0dive is called “gradual sinking”). They can\u00a0hold any position in the water for an extended\u00a0amount of time.\u00a0I’ve seen them with only enough of the head sticking out\u00a0of the water to reveal the eye and top of the bill and hold that position in the water for several seconds. When they sink fast, as in this case, they often use their incredibly flexible\u00a0legs and feet to help push them down – thus the boiling water left behind on the surface.<\/p>\n I’ve posted about this behavior once before but since I was able to photograph it again I thought it deserved another go-round. After all, repetition is an integral component of learning…<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Researchers have named at least six different diving methods in Pied-billed Grebes but I find this one to be the most entertaining to watch.<\/p>\n![\"pied-billed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-9317-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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