Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Pied-billed Grebes/Wild Birds

 Pied-billed grebe adult and juvenile

The first two photos were taken in late July. Pied-billed grebes tend to be shy, but my husband and I arrived early at this marsh where many grebe families were out and about.  We sneaked around behind tall cattails, which worked for a while.

 Head up

OOPS! The adult detetected our presence and both dove into the water. Their feet are not webbed. Instead,  they have lobes on the sides of each toe which make it easy for them to paddle. Pied-bill grebes rarely fly and, when they do, they usually do so at night.

Adults are  31 to 38 centimetres (12 to 15 inches) in length. Their brown colour makes it easy for them to hide among cattails. 

 Looking for grub

They feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates but sometimes dine on small fish and frogs.

Eating

I'm not sure what this grebe is eating here. Whatever it was,it was consumed very fast.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

48 comments:

Andy said...

Camera Girl you are really turning into a Nature Girl. Keep on clicking.

MadSnapper said...

i love the hair do, make that feather do, on the first shot. did not know about no webs on the feet.

Lowell said...

A most interesting post. I remember these birds from a previous post but I enjoyed all the details you added today. They remind me of what I look like when I climb out of bed in the morning!

Cloudy said...

Die sind ja niedlich, habe solche noch nie gesehen...

Lieben Gruß
CL

Lowell said...

Ahem! Yes, we here in central Florida do experience a change of seasons and we do celebrate fall. Of course, the leaves won't change until December (if then) but the nights get cool and the days are perfect...generally by the first of October.

In south Florida, the temperature can drop into the 50s and God forbid, occasionally into the 40s, but mostly it remains hot and humid through the year.

We're lucky here.

Lois Evensen said...

Very interesting. Yes, that food usually does go down fast before it gets away or another bird grabs it. Very nice post.

Halcyon said...

I often wonder what these guys munch on. It must be abundant since there are so many kinds of geese and ducks around here! :)

Paul in Powell River said...

They are a lovely bird!

TexWisGirl said...

i love these little guys! we've had one or two over-winter with us a couple of years. i'm hoping they return this winter! thanks for sharing their babies!

Suburban Girl said...

Love the juvenile! So cute.

wendyytb said...

Thank you for sharing! This is probably the only way I would catch a close-up!

Connie Smiley said...

My, those babies are cute! They must have wondered what you were doing in the cattails.

Linda Kittmer said...

You've got some great shots here. Loving the bird images lately.

Carletta said...

They are cute and compact!
I like the morning lighting too. It highlights there faces nicely.

Small City Scenes said...

Hi EG I thought I had lost you. I guess I should save you somewhere. LOL
Your pics are suburb. Our skies have been so blue I just love it. And the stars at night in these clear skies are beautiful jewels.

Love you Grebe pics--those fuzzy dears---and the mosaic in your previous post is excellent. I cannot seem to do mosaics anymore now that I use Bob's computer. I should delve deeper. MB

eileeninmd said...

Great post on the Grebes! I think they are so cute, especially the cute babies. Wonderful photos, have a great day!

Craver Vii said...

They DO have a wild and scruffy look about them, don't they?

i stora drag said...

Interesting birds and nice photos of them! I had to search the english name on Google, find the bird on Wikipedia, translate the page and - no, we usually don't have them here in Europe! :)
Greetings Pia

LONDONLULU said...

Love these birds - I've not seen them here before and your pictures are great, so clear! Even more special that you caught both adult and juvenile :)

RedPat said...

This is a great series, EG!

Flogistix said...

wow...really cute birds. . love the photos. . .cool . .thanks for showing it to me...keep it up..
natural gas compressor

HansHB said...

A wonderful serie of shots, - well done!

Anni said...

I think I've fallen in love....with the baby pied!!!! So so darned cute, isn't it?

mick said...

Great photos of the Grebes and the water and reflections are beautiful.

Adam Jones said...

Really nice these birds. I do like the Pied Billed Grebes.

Michelle said...

Interesting that they don't have webbed feet.

NatureFootstep said...

this is a grebe I have never seen. It looks a bit strange to me. Don´t seem to have the "proud" posture most of the others have. Nice shots, I love them.

Lesley said...

Excellent shots! I love the wet head look of these guys, especially in the first shot!

Susan Anderson said...

Wonderful photos, as always.

=)

Viola said...

Oh! I'm absolutely melting! how sweet they are! :)
I think I never before have seen those birds.

Stephanie said...

Great shots of this bird.

Gill - That British Woman said...

what super shots, well done,

Gill

Jill said...

They are rather comical looking! Made me smile. :)

Birdman said...

Like mom, like daughter!

Pat said...

You captured some beautiful close-ups of the pied billed grebe.

Linda said...

Wonderful photos of the elusive bird!

Randy said...

Love their spikey feathers.

Rohrerbot said...

These birds have become a favorite of mine over the summer. Plus the chicks are so unusually colored...like zebras and tigers! Very pretty shots.

Cezar and Léia said...

You prepared a great article here about these cute critters!
And your pictures are wonderful!
Léia

Vores have said...

Nice pictures you show some cute ducks.
Do not think that we have these in here in Denmark.
Hanne Bente

Stewart M said...

These small grebes can be very spooky! So you did well to get any sort of image - let alone good ones.

Thanks for linking to WBW.

Stewart M - Australia

jane said...

Wow brilliant pictures as always - I have never seen this species of grebe before - I liked your previous blog on the hummingbirds and the collage - thanks for sharing Jane UK

Darla said...

Interesting birds, liked the bit about their flying (or not). I always learn something from your bird posts.

Darla

Anonymous said...

A great job you did, getting these nice shots!

Phil Slade said...

Absolutely cracking shots of the Pied Billed Grebe - very impressive close-ups.

Snowcatcher said...

As a certified bird stalker, I really enjoyed these photos. I've not seen this breed before, but I have on rare occasions seen western grebes, which are not common to my area of the world.

Rose said...

In the first shot, the adult looks every bit as darling as the youngster!

Martha Z said...

Great series! We have Pied-billed grebes around here but I have never seen a juvenile.

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.