{"id":27862,"date":"2015-08-29T05:31:35","date_gmt":"2015-08-29T11:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=27862"},"modified":"2025-07-23T10:31:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T15:31:43","slug":"a-western-grebe-with-a-feather-on-its-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/29\/a-western-grebe-with-a-feather-on-its-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Grebe with a feather on its bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WesternWestern Grebe with a feather on its bill – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/a><\/span> I found a couple of Western Grebes preening in an area where the reflections on the water are always wonderful so I took a series of images.<\/p>\n

I love it when the blue sky is also reflected on the surface along with the other colors and this frame has that and it also shows a feather stuck to the bill of the grebe that is in sharp focus.<\/p>\n

Grebes are known for eating their own feathers. From Birds of North American (BNA) online:<\/p>\n

Stomachs also contain many feathers, mostly from the bird\u2019s flanks and scapulars, tracts, which are in almost constant molt. Feathers swallowed as they come out in the course of preening. Most feathers form ball in lumen of stomach, but some form plug at pyloric exit. Function not proven but thought to keep fish bones from injuring lining of stomach and reaching intestine or, as suggested by Piersma and Van Eerden (1989), to assist in the formation of pellets which can be ejected, eliminating indigestible material and a possible build-up of gastric parasites. Pyloric plug may reduce number of intestinal parasites, which are numerous (see Demography: mortality and disease), although effectiveness is unknown (Storer 2000).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I did not observe either of these grebes eating the feathers they plucked out while preening that morning instead the feathers simply floated down the Bear River.<\/p>\n

I like the bit of interest the single feathers provides.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Two days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I found a couple of Western Grebes preening in an area where the reflections on the water are always wonderful so I took a series of images. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,26,161],"tags":[4004,699,4608,877,707,4094,12131,4014,4095],"class_list":["post-27862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","category-western-grebes","tag-adult","tag-aechmophorus-occidentalis","tag-feather","tag-grebe","tag-grebes-2","tag-marsh","tag-stomach","tag-western-grebe","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebes-feather-mia-mcpherson-2247.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-7fo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45617,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/17\/clarks-and-western-grebes-return-to-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":27862,"position":0},"title":"Clark’s and Western Grebes Return to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm happy that the Clark's and Western Grebes have returned for their breeding season at the refuge and I look forward to photographing them while they are here.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Clark's Grebe with a fish, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8627.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8627.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101210,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/29\/clarks-and-western-grebe-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":27862,"position":1},"title":"Clark’s And Western Grebe Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On my trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last week I was delighted to see and hear both Clark's and Western Grebe species from the auto tour loop.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Clark's Grebe close up, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/clarks-grebe-spring-mia-mcpherson-5961.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/clarks-grebe-spring-mia-mcpherson-5961.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/clarks-grebe-spring-mia-mcpherson-5961.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/clarks-grebe-spring-mia-mcpherson-5961.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113164,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/03\/springtime-grebe-and-avocet-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":27862,"position":2},"title":"Springtime Grebe And Avocet Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing two springtime portraits that I took last week at Bear River MBR. The first is a Western Grebe, the second, an American Avocet.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Springtime Western Grebe portrait, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56402,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/04\/preening-western-grebe-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":27862,"position":3},"title":"Preening Western Grebe At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Migrating Western Grebes are already being reported at Utah Lake, Bountiful Pond and Farmington Bay WMA and before too long they will be found at other locations here in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Preening Western Grebe and reflection, Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-preening-mia-mcpherson-1913.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-preening-mia-mcpherson-1913.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-preening-mia-mcpherson-1913.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-preening-mia-mcpherson-1913.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27779,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/24\/western-grebes-and-their-young-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":27862,"position":4},"title":"Western Grebes And Their Young At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"There were plenty of Western Grebes to be seen and photographed yesterday morning at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and I took tons of images of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Western Grebe and golden reflections, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14718,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/04\/08\/reflections-and-a-western-grebe\/","url_meta":{"origin":27862,"position":5},"title":"Reflections And A Western Grebe","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The water impoundments at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge are alive with the sounds of calling Western Grebes once again.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Grebe head on with a wiggly reflection, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-goofy-reflection-mia-mcpherson-2142.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-goofy-reflection-mia-mcpherson-2142.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-goofy-reflection-mia-mcpherson-2142.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}