Though their feet are set far back on their bodies, rendering them awkward when out of the water, their courtship displays are anything but awkward. The depth of the water is usually no more than one foot. Together, the pair works at constructing their nest which can be 2 to 3 feet in diameter or larger, essentially a mound of vegetation with a depression for the eggs in the center.
Since the males are stronger and have larger bills they contribute the bulk of stalks and stems. The females add wet material such as algae to cement the nest and form the central depression.
When complete, the nest is anchored to vegetation or a snag underwater to protect it from wind and wave action. Female Western Grebes lay 2 to 4 eggs, which are 2 to 2. Both sexes incubate the eggs for 24 days during which time the male feeds the female. Born alert, the hatchlings are covered with black and silver-colored down. Within minutes of hatching they climb onto the backs of their parents who feed them as they mature and begin to fly at ten weeks old.
When the breeding season is over, the adults molt their wing feathers and, when new feathers appear, generally migrate in the fall to coastal habitats where fish stock is abundant. As to our concern for the level of stability of the Western Grebe populations, the prognosis is complicated. Tragically, these birds were hunted to near extinction in the early 20 th century for their dense, waterproof plumage, which was prized for the clothing and hat styles of the time.
Though the species managed to make a long, slow recovery, it has not, in the ensuing ninety to one hundred years, ever regained its original numbers.
Latin: Aechmophorus clarkii. Latin: Podiceps grisegena. Latin: Gavia stellata. Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk. Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives.
Western Grebes are highly gregarious at all seasons, nesting in colonies and wintering in flocks. Their thin, reedy calls are characteristic sounds of western marshes in summer.
Photo gallery. Feeding Behavior Forages by diving from surface and swimming underwater, propelled mainly by feet.
Eggs , rarely Young Climb onto back of parent within minutes after hatching, soon leave nest; are fed by both parents. Diet Mostly fish. Nesting Breeds in colonies.
Climate threats facing the Western Grebe Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. More News. Explore Similar Birds. The Bird Guide Adopt a Bird. Clark's Grebe Latin: Aechmophorus clarkii. Red-necked Grebe Latin: Podiceps grisegena. Email Address.
Please do not pin my images on Pinterest, Tumblr or any other pinning site or social media or use them for anything else without my express permission and that includes using them as models for paintings, drawings or tattoos etc. Please follow this link for more information. Western Grebe parent feeding feather to young Over a period of perhaps a half hour I watched this adult feed several feathers to the chicks, who seemed almost as eager to consume the feathers as they did the fish provided by the parents.
Western Grebe chick reaching for a feather from its parent Feathers are fed to the young almost immediately after hatching. Some of the ingested feathers form a plug in the pylorus, between the stomach and small intestine, which acts as a strainer to keep fish bones in the stomach long enough to be completely digested. Most swallowed feathers end up in the stomach lumen, mixed with food.
They eventually along with any indigestible matter form pellets that are ejected through the mouth. The continuous passage of these pellets through the upper digestive system minimizes the buildup of a variety of parasites that are very common there and plague grebes.
Pied-billed Grebe eating a feather Most of the feathers grebes eat are their own, pulled out during preening. Pied-billed Grebe about to consume a feather In post-mortem exam, feathers may form as much as Photographing Birds on Antelope Island. Barn Owls in Flight. Linda October 17, at pm. Ron Dudley October 17, at pm.
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