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.
48 comments:
Camera Girl you are really turning into a Nature Girl. Keep on clicking.
i love the hair do, make that feather do, on the first shot. did not know about no webs on the feet.
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!
Die sind ja niedlich, habe solche noch nie gesehen...
Lieben Gruß
CL
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.
Very interesting. Yes, that food usually does go down fast before it gets away or another bird grabs it. Very nice post.
I often wonder what these guys munch on. It must be abundant since there are so many kinds of geese and ducks around here! :)
They are a lovely bird!
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!
Love the juvenile! So cute.
Thank you for sharing! This is probably the only way I would catch a close-up!
My, those babies are cute! They must have wondered what you were doing in the cattails.
You've got some great shots here. Loving the bird images lately.
They are cute and compact!
I like the morning lighting too. It highlights there faces nicely.
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
Great post on the Grebes! I think they are so cute, especially the cute babies. Wonderful photos, have a great day!
They DO have a wild and scruffy look about them, don't they?
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
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 :)
This is a great series, EG!
wow...really cute birds. . love the photos. . .cool . .thanks for showing it to me...keep it up..
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A wonderful serie of shots, - well done!
I think I've fallen in love....with the baby pied!!!! So so darned cute, isn't it?
Great photos of the Grebes and the water and reflections are beautiful.
Really nice these birds. I do like the Pied Billed Grebes.
Interesting that they don't have webbed feet.
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.
Excellent shots! I love the wet head look of these guys, especially in the first shot!
Wonderful photos, as always.
=)
Oh! I'm absolutely melting! how sweet they are! :)
I think I never before have seen those birds.
Great shots of this bird.
what super shots, well done,
Gill
They are rather comical looking! Made me smile. :)
Like mom, like daughter!
You captured some beautiful close-ups of the pied billed grebe.
Wonderful photos of the elusive bird!
Love their spikey feathers.
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.
You prepared a great article here about these cute critters!
And your pictures are wonderful!
Léia
Nice pictures you show some cute ducks.
Do not think that we have these in here in Denmark.
Hanne Bente
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
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
Interesting birds, liked the bit about their flying (or not). I always learn something from your bird posts.
Darla
A great job you did, getting these nice shots!
Absolutely cracking shots of the Pied Billed Grebe - very impressive close-ups.
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.
In the first shot, the adult looks every bit as darling as the youngster!
Great series! We have Pied-billed grebes around here but I have never seen a juvenile.
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