{"id":5884,"date":"2012-06-04T16:24:52","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T22:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=5884"},"modified":"2012-09-02T15:56:06","modified_gmt":"2012-09-02T21:56:06","slug":"rushing-western-grebes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/06\/04\/rushing-western-grebes\/","title":{"rendered":"“Rushing” Western Grebes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ritualized displays and courtship ceremonies of Western Grebes are among the most complex known in the bird world.\u00a0 One of\u00a0them is called the “rushing ceremony” which includes 5 distinct\u00a0phases – only one of which is actually referred to as\u00a0“rushing”.\u00a0 Yesterday I finally <\/em>\u00a0was able to photograph\u00a0this most dramatic part of the display\u00a0and believe me it’s been a long time coming.<\/p>\n

Mia and I were photographing a pair of these grebes with chicks and though we both\u00a0were aware of another small group of grebes a little further away I was concentrating so intently on those chicks that I didn’t notice what Mia noticed – that the behavior of two of those birds had suddenly changed.\u00a0 She said “they’re going to do something” so all I had time to do was\u00a0quickly aim\u00a0my lens at these birds and fire away.\u00a0 Without Mia I’d have missed the entire sequence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"western-grebe-4720\"<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0When rushing, the two birds (usually a mated pair but two males may\u00a0also do it to\u00a0attract females) lunge forward and rise completely out of the water.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"western-grebe-4721\"<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0As their legs and feet start to churn at incredible speeds\u00a0their bodies begin to become\u00a0more vertical…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"western-grebe-4733\"<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

until the birds \u00a0are almost completely vertical to the water and their feet are slapping the\u00a0surface so fast (16-20 steps per second) that the slapping\u00a0and splashing noise is loud and can be heard a great distance away.\u00a0 The wings are lifted but never extended.<\/p>\n

The female is on the\u00a0right – note her smaller size.\u00a0 The bill of the female is also shorter and thinner than that of the male and it has a slightly upturned appearance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"western-grebe-4735\"<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

Both birds run across the surface of the water in a choreographed manner for up to 65 feet before ending the display by diving head first into the water.\u00a0 Neither bird makes any vocalization during the process.<\/p>\n

I fired a burst of this\u00a0behavior and got 17 shots of it but in many of them at least one of the birds was soft.\u00a0 And of course my buffer had filled by the time the display was over so I missed them diving into the water.\u00a0 But I have about a half-dozen more images of this behavior than I had before so I’m still delighted<\/p>\n

Thanks Mia!<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ritualized displays and courtship ceremonies of Western Grebes are among the most complex known in the bird world.\u00a0 One of\u00a0them is called the “rushing ceremony” which includes 5 distinct\u00a0phases – only one of which is actually referred to as\u00a0“rushing”.\u00a0 Yesterday I finally \u00a0was able to photograph\u00a0this most dramatic part of the display\u00a0and believe me it’s been a long time coming. Mia and I were photographing a pair of these grebes with chicks and though we both\u00a0were aware of another small group of grebes a little further away I was concentrating so intently on those chicks that I didn’t notice what Mia noticed – that the behavior of two of those birds had suddenly changed.\u00a0 She said “they’re going to do something” so all I had time to do was\u00a0quickly aim\u00a0my lens at these birds and fire away.\u00a0 Without Mia I’d have missed the entire sequence.   \u00a01\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc \u00a0When rushing, the two birds (usually a mated pair but two males may\u00a0also do it to\u00a0attract females) lunge forward and rise completely out of the water.     \u00a01\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc \u00a0As their legs and feet start to churn at incredible speeds\u00a0their bodies begin to become\u00a0more vertical…     \u00a01\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc until the birds \u00a0are almost completely vertical to the water and their feet are slapping the\u00a0surface so fast (16-20 steps per second) that the slapping\u00a0and splashing noise is loud and can be heard a great distance away.\u00a0 The…<\/p>\n

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