Eared Grebe molting into breeding plumage – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
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. I see Eared Grebes by the thousands and thousands on the Great Salt Lake from the causeway to Antelope Island in the spring and fall but they are usually way too far out to photograph to produce high quality images of individual birds.
The Eared Grebe in these two photos was photographed at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in late April of 2018.
In July of 2017 I was able to document at least ten leucistic Eared Grebes from the causeway which was a face-melting, amazing bird experience. Sadly the photos of those leucistic birds weren’t my best quality photos because of distance. I truly wish they had been closer and that I had been sitting on the shoreline for a low angle perspective of those “white” Eared Grebes. I’ll probably never see that many leucistic grebes in one day again.
Eared Grebe in a marsh area – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Eared Grebes do nest in northern Utah and I think it would be fascinating to photograph their mating displays, their nests, and their young.
Most of the time I only see these small grebes from a distance though and I’d really like to be closer to them and at eye level with them. In addition to the Great Salt Lake I also see eared Grebes at Farmington Bay WMA and Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I keep hoping that one day I’ll get the frame filling images of them that I have been dreaming about for so long. Maybe 2019 will be the year I fulfill those dreams!
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Eared Grebe photos plus facts and information about this species.
More on the leucistic Eared Grebes I photographed in July of 2017:
Birding Photo Quiz: October 2017
Featured Photo – Birding Magazine October 2017
By Peter Pyle and Mia McPherson
Why So Many White Eared Grebes?
(ABA member access only)
Gorgeous! Those eyes are something else! 🙂
April, thank you for rehabbing the grebe! I also wouldn’t have thought about scuffed feet as a potential injury, but it makes sense.
A beautiful bird, and I found April’s comment fascinating. Scuffed feet is not an injury I had ever considered. I am so glad that it was found, treated and released. Huge thanks to April and all rehabbers.
I wish they would be more daring and come in close too. I did once have one in my bathtub. It downed about 2 dozen feeder fish in a very short time. It was a beautiful bird. I don’t take photos of rehab birds unless to document injury. The grebe had landed in a parking lot and scuffed up it’s feet. It spent a week in rehab and was released.