Podilymbus podiceps
Pied-billed Grebes are small, brown, chunky birds that swim, they have slender necks and large heads with small bills. While breeding the bill turns whitish with a single black band.
Last week, I took a photo of a Pied-billed Grebe in breeding plumage at my local pond. Today, I decided to do a comparison with one in nonbreeding plumage.
While I was out enjoying some sunshine yesterday morning, I photographed an adult Pied-billed Grebe from a distance and up close at one of my local ponds.
This morning, I'm sharing a simple bathing Pied-billed Grebe photo that I took four years ago. I like this grebe image because of all the flying water droplets.
Plastic netting will kill this Pied-billed Grebe unless myself or someone else can capture the grebe and remove the netting. The grebe will starve to death.
Last week, I photographed an immature Pied-billed Grebe being chased by an adult at my local pond. I observed some other interesting grebe behaviors as well.
I was going through photos that I took last year when I found this image of a young Pied-billed Grebe, taken at my local pond at the tail end of November.
I had a great time observing and photographing a Pied-billed Grebe exhibiting Crash-dive behavior at Bear River MBR from the auto tour loop on Monday.
On my most recent trip to Bear River MBR, I had a huge thrill. I found four baby Pied-billed Grebes still in their striped juvenile plumage in the marsh.
What bird is cuter than a fluffy butt Pied-billed Grebe? There are probably quite a few birds as cute but this one taken four years ago tickled my fancy today.
While I was at my local pond three days ago this Pied-billed Grebe in breeding plumage caught my eyes because of its attitude.
When I was down at my local pond a few days ago I noticed a Pied-billed Grebe that is going into breeding or Definitive Alternate Plumage.
About a week ago I photographed a young Pied-billed Grebe that was still in juvenal plumage on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.
It is a chilly 29°F where I live in northern Utah on New Year's Day 2021 and from my living room window I can see that it is foggy outside.
Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.
The Pied-billed Grebe dunked its head then slapped its wings against the water vigorously which caused the icy water to fly in all directions.
The slow chase was soon to change and before I knew it both Pied-billed Grebes started running across the water and the grebe with the crayfish started racing across the water with the crayfish dangling from its bill.
It is winter here but the birds know that spring is around the corner and more gatherings like the ones I saw two days ago will happen again and I hope I am able to slow down and enjoy it.
This image of a Pied-billed Grebe with a crayfish in its bill running across the water is one of those photos where I wish I could show the second grebe just outside of the frame chasing after it.
There were some images of the bathing Pied-billed Grebe I did like because they showed a view of the grebe I don't share all that often, the back side of the grebe. They have cute little bottoms, so why not?
I spent some time at one of the local ponds yesterday afternoon and came home with photos that made me smile and for a little while I forgot about the long hours I spent getting skunked on the road earlier in the day.
Two days ago I noticed one Pied-billed Grebe carrying vegetation in its bill which I presume it was gathering to build its floating nest at a small pond at Farmington Bay WMA and later on I heard the call of a Pied-billed Grebe, located the grebe and photographed it as it called.
The funniest photo I took yesterday, the one that made me laugh out loud the hardest, was when a crayfish landed on the Pied-billed Grebe's head after the bird shook it hard.
Three afternoons ago I captured images of not just one flying crayfish in the air but two of them because of the Pied-billed Grebes capturing and consuming the freshwater crustaceans.
This aggressive encounter between the two Pied-billed Grebes only lasted a few seconds and if I hadn't been paying attention I would have missed photographing it.
The Pied-billed Grebe was a bit too far away to take frame filling images of it but I was okay with that because I feel that the visual appearance of the silky water is just as important as the bird in these photos.
It can be especially fun to watch these small grebes catch a fish to eat and then see the other Pied-billed Grebes nearby try to steal the fish away from it because of the action that can occur.
In just a little over two weeks birders, hunters and bird photographers should have access to more of Farmington Bay WMA than we have had since March. Or will we?
Yesterday afternoon I was at my local pond where I photographed not one but two Pied-billed Grebes in flight. This is rarely seen and rarely photographed.
When I saw this Pied-billed Grebe bathing at Farmington Bay I couldn't resist photographing it as it splashed water all over itself.