{"id":173109,"date":"2026-03-26T06:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=173109"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:38:55","slug":"pied-billed-grebe-eating-a-feather-at-sequoyah-nwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/03\/26\/pied-billed-grebe-eating-a-feather-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","title":{"rendered":"Pied-billed Grebe Eating A Feather At Sequoyah NWR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pied-billedPied-billed Grebe eating a feather \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 800, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

On one of my recent trips to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge this week, I had fun photographing a Pied-billed Grebe eating a feather at Miner’s Cove.<\/p>\n

The grebe was close to where I sat in my Jeep on the road watching it preen. It dawned on me as I photographed the fluffy water bird that I hadn’t shared any photos of Pied-billed Grebes since leaving Utah.<\/p>\n

Next month is my two year anniversary of seeing the last of Utah in my rear view mirror. Where has time gone?<\/p>\n

Back to the grebe eating its own feather:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pied-billed Grebes eating their own feathers looks odd at first, but it actually serves a purpose. Those feathers form a soft, felt-like layer in the stomach that helps cushion sharp fish bones and other hard bits they swallow whole. It\u2019s a built-in way to protect their digestive tract.<\/p>\n

That feathery layer also helps them bundle up indigestible material into pellets, which they can later bring back up. Kind of like their own cleanup system after a meal.<\/p>\n

Strange behavior, smart design. Nature doesn\u2019t waste a thing.<\/p>\n

I frequently see Pied-billed Grebes<\/span><\/a> at the refuge but it isn’t often that I have one up close like this bird was. Having it in my viewfinder was a nice treat.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Pied-billed Grebe photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On one of my recent trips to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge this week, I had fun photographing a Pied-billed Grebe eating a feather at Miner’s Cove.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":173106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,13973,135,13974],"tags":[4004,5552,13984,4286,4608,877,707,14047,4009,4166,13976,165,3996,1983],"class_list":["post-173109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-pied-billed-grebes","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-bill","tag-bottomlands","tag-eating","tag-feather","tag-grebe","tag-grebes-2","tag-miners-cove","tag-pied-billed-grebe","tag-podilymbus-podiceps","tag-slough","tag-spring","tag-water","tag-water-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t