Aechmophorus occidentalis
Western Grebes are large black and white grebes with cherry-red eyes that breed in lakes and ponds in western North America.
Western and Clark's Grebes will soon number in the thousands at Bear River NWR along the auto tour route and on the Bear River itself.
I photographed this Western Grebe at Farmington Bay WMA in October of 2104, all of the images are of the same grebe but with a slight change in direction the look of the water is different.
I often try to capture the eye of a bird diving into the water at the moment just before the eye submerges below the surface. I was able to succeed with the Western Grebe.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is always a delight and I never know exactly what I might see when I am there which suits my spontaneous nature perfectly.
The water impoundments at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge are alive with the sounds of calling Western Grebes once again.
The snow has melted in the Salt Lake Valley where temps have been unseasonably warm thanks to the "Pineapple Express" and although winter hasn't left it has begun to feel like spring which means it won't be long before spring has sprung up all over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge!
Seeing the tail end... of 2013 on this last day of December.
Cute Alert! Whenever I see Western Grebe chicks riding piggyback on their parents I can't help thinking that there is a definite cute factor going on right in front of me.
I'm having a blast meeting and photographing the new generation of Western Grebes at the refuge.
The other day when I photographed the Black-crowned Night Heron at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge I also photographed some Clark's and Western Grebes, I found these two images of this Western Grebe interesting and wanted to post them.
I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.
One of my favorite locations to photograph birds in northern Utah is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I've selected some of the birds there that delight and entertain me while I observe and photograph them.
I photographed these rushing Western Grebes in early June of this year at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge in Box Elder County.
Here in Utah I am constantly watching the sky for billowing clouds of the smoke of a new fire. We need rain, we need a good soaking.
Grebe chicks are showing up all over at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (aka Bear River National Wildlife Refuge) in northern Utah and they are just adorable to see and photograph.
Enough already, if there isn't going to be a winter then bring on the spring!
Spring seduces me. Refreshes me. It whispers to me softly to come outside and savor nature and wildlife.
Two Grebe species that are often misidentified are the Clark's and Western Grebes.