Eared Grebe – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Eared And Horned Grebe Nonbreeding Plumage Comparison

By Mia McPherson|November 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Bird ID, Birds, Box Elder County, Eared Grebes, Horned Grebes, Utah|Tags: autumn, bills, clean, comparison, dusky, Eared Grebe, fall, grebe, grebes, Horned Grebe, identification, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Podiceps auritus, Podiceps nigricollis, shape, size, water, waterbirds, wetlands, white tip, winter|

This morning, I wanted to share an Eared and Horned Grebe nonbreeding plumage comparison. Why? Because, at this time of year, I can see both species.

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Eared Grebe on the Bear River

By Mia McPherson|April 20th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eared Grebes, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River, breeding plumage, Eared Grebe, grebe, grebes, Podiceps nigricollis, river, water, waterbirds, wetlands|

About this time last year I took this photo of an adult Eared Grebe floating past me on the Bear River from the road that goes to the auto tour route.

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Eared Grebe Photos – These Grebes Have Such Fluffy Butts

By Mia McPherson|December 4th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eared Grebes, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, butt, Eared Grebe, fall, fluffy, grebe, grebes, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Podiceps nigricollis, water, wetlands|

Yesterday morning at Bear River MBR I spotted a single Eared Grebe in the marsh and stopped to take photos of it.

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Spring Eared Grebe Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 4th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eared Grebes, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, chase, Eared Grebe, fish, grebe, grebes, marsh, Podiceps nigricollis, prey, spring, water, wetlands|

One morning last week I had many opportunities to take Eared Grebe photos at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge including one grebe with a large fish.

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An Assortment Of Spring Birds From Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|April 23rd, 2021|Categories: American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Eared Grebes, Forster's Terns, Gadwalls, Great Blue Herons, Long-billed Curlews, Red-winged Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Utah, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibises, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus clarkii, Aechmophorus occidentalis, Agelaius phoeniceus, Antigone canadensis, Ardea herodias, Bear River, birds, breeding plumage, Clark's Grebe, Definitive Alternate Plumage, displaying, Double-crested Cormorant, Eared Grebe, flight, flying, Forster's Tern, Gadwall, Great Blue Heron, horn, Long-billed Curlew, Mareca strepera, marsh, Mergus serrator, Nannopterum auritus, Numenius americanus, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, Plegadis chihi, Podiceps nigricollis, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-winged Blackbird, river, Sandhill Crane, spring, Sterna forsteri, Weed Ceremony, Western Grebe, wetlands, white pelican, White-faced Ibis, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, Yellow-headed Blackbird|

Today I wanted to share an assortment of spring birds all photographed at Bear River MBR yesterday on a bright and beautiful morning.

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Adult Eared Grebe At Bear River MBR Plus A 4.2 Aftershock

By Mia McPherson|April 15th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eared Grebes, Utah|Tags: 4.2, adult, aftershock, breeding plumage, breeding season, Eared Grebe, earthquake, grebe, grebes, marsh, Podiceps nigricollis, refuge, Wasatch fault zone, water, West Valley fault zone|

The light yesterday morning was a little bit funky because of high, thin clouds overhead but I took a few photos of the birds that I was able to get close to including one of the Eared Grebes.

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Hoping For More Photos Of Eared Grebes This Season

By Mia McPherson|April 6th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eared Grebes, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding, breeding plumage, Eared Grebe, grebe, grebes, leucistic, marsh, molt, Podiceps nigricollis, water, wetlands|

I have plenty of photos of Clark's, Western and Pied-billed Grebes but few of Eared Grebes and I am hoping that this breeding season I will be able to have more of these small grebes in my viewfinder.

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Water Dance of Leucistic Eared Grebes on the Great Salt Lake

By Mia McPherson|July 22nd, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Eared Grebes, Leucistic, Utah|Tags: abnormal pigmentation, brine flies, brine shrimp, Eared Grebe, Great Salt Lake, grebe, grebes, hypersaline lake, leucism, leucistic, Partially leucistic, pigment issues, Podiceps nigricollis, rare, saline lake, water dance|

I will probably never see and photograph so many leucistic Eared Grebes again in my life time as I did yesterday on the Great Salt Lake.

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Bald Eagle in flight with prey in its talons

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Eared Grebes, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, Eared Grebe, flight, flying, grebe, grebes, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Podiceps nigricollis, prey, raptors|

When the Bald Eagle lifted off I could see the prey in its talons but it wasn't until I viewed the image on my screen at home that I could tell that the prey was most likely an Eared Grebe because of the lobed feet.

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The Great Salt Lake is D(r)ying and Utah’s Water Crisis

By Mia McPherson|April 26th, 2015|Categories: American White Pelicans, Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-necked Stilts, Box Elder County, Brine Flies, Conservation, Davis County, Eared Grebes, Environment, Franklin's Gulls, Northern Shovelers, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: American White Pelican, bird photography, birds, Black-necked Stilt, brine fly, brine shrimp, climate change, climate crisis, drought, drying, duck, ducks, dying, Eared Grebe, Great Basin hub, Great Salt Lake, grebe, grebes, habitat, hyper saline, hypersaline, migration, Northern Shoveler, Pacific Flyway, pelican, pelicans, phalarope, phalaropes, record low, shoveler, shovelers, water crisis, Wilson's Phalarope|

One thing I know for certain is that we can't drink dust.

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Too many Eared Grebes to Count

By Mia McPherson|May 9th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Brine Flies, Eared Grebes, Great Salt Lake, Utah|Tags: adult, alkali flies, breeding plumage, brine fly, brine shrimp, diet, Eared Grebe, fall migration, flock, flocks, Great Salt Lake, grebe, grebes, hyper saline, hypersaline, lake, Podiceps nigricollis, saline environments, spring migration, thousands, water|

During spring and fall migration there can be so many Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) on the Great Salt Lake that they are impossible to count.

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Eared Grebe – Gray Day

By Mia McPherson|December 13th, 2010|Categories: Birds, Eared Grebes, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Low light, Utah|Tags: adult, Eared Grebe, gray day, Great Salt Lake, grebe, grebes, low light, marsh, most abundant grebe, nonbreeding plumage, North America, Podiceps nigricollis, saline, water, wetlands|

Eared Grebes are the most abundant grebe in North America, there are times I see huge flocks of them on the Great Salt Lake numbering in the tens of thousands.

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