{"id":30883,"date":"2015-10-23T05:58:13","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T11:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=30883"},"modified":"2025-05-08T19:28:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T00:28:28","slug":"a-clarks-grebe-and-ring-billed-gull-skirmish-the-clarks-grebe-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/23\/a-clarks-grebe-and-ring-billed-gull-skirmish-the-clarks-grebe-wins\/","title":{"rendered":"Clark’s Grebe and Ring-billed Gull Skirmish – The Clark’s Grebe Wins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Clark'sClark’s Grebe with prey at Farmington Bay – Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I spent a few hours at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and was able to witness a very brief skirmish between a Clark’s Grebe that had a fish in its bill and a Ring-billed Gull that tried to steal the fish. I have seen Ring-billed Gulls attempt to take prey items away from Pied-billed Grebes before but this was my first time seeing this type of encounter with the larger Clark’s Grebe. Ring-billed Gulls are opportunistic and are known for kleptoparasitizing from other species and I have come to expect this kind of behavior from them.<\/p>\n

I was photographing the Clark’s Grebe hoping to get images of it swallowing what appeared to be a small carp when I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye.<\/p>\n

\"Ring-billedRing-billed Gull after diving at a Clark’s Grebe with prey – Nikon D810, f9, 1\/2000, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew a gull was flying in and got ready to hit the shutter button the second I saw the gull enter my field of view. I was able to get three images of the gull as it hit the water but by then the grebe had already escaped with its still living prey by diving deep into the water. This is the first image of the gull on the water and shows that it didn’t get the prey from the grebe, the other two images show the gull flying away with its back to me.<\/p>\n

This attempt by the gull to steal the grebe’s prey lasted less than a second but I still found the behavior of both birds interesting. You never know what you will see out in the field photographing birds.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Clark\u2019s Grebe photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Ring-billed Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spent a few hours at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and was able to witness a very brief skirmish between a Clark’s Grebe that had a fish in its bill and a Ring-billed Gull that tried to steal the fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[27,162,1022,697,410,26],"tags":[4155,4016,877,707,3539,521,4694,4264,4468,4693],"class_list":["post-30883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-avian","category-clarks-grebes","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-ring-billed-gulls","category-utah","tag-aechmophorus-clarkii","tag-clarks-grebe","tag-grebe","tag-grebes-2","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-kleptoparasitizing","tag-larus-delawarensis","tag-ring-billed-gull","tag-skirmish"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-827","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49416,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/11\/13\/pied-billed-grebe-with-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":30883,"position":0},"title":"Pied-billed Grebe With Prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It can be especially fun to watch these small grebes catch a fish to eat and then see the other Pied-billed Grebes nearby try to steal the fish away from it because of the action that can occur.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pied-billed Grebe about to be chased, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8367.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-fish-mia-mcpherson-8367.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118683,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/02\/immature-pied-billed-grebe-being-chased-and-other-grebe-behaviors\/","url_meta":{"origin":30883,"position":1},"title":"Immature Pied-billed Grebe Being Chased And Other Grebe Behaviors","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, I photographed an immature Pied-billed Grebe being chased by an adult at my local pond. I observed some other interesting grebe behaviors as well.","rel":"","context":"In "Pied-billed Grebes"","block_context":{"text":"Pied-billed Grebes","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/grebes\/pied-billed-grebes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Pied-billed Grebe being chased, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pied-billed-grebe-immature-chased-mia-mcpherson-8805.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pied-billed-grebe-immature-chased-mia-mcpherson-8805.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pied-billed-grebe-immature-chased-mia-mcpherson-8805.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-juvenile-prey-running-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-juvenile-prey-running-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-juvenile-prey-running-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pied-billed-grebe-juvenile-prey-running-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101597,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/14\/spring-clarks-grebe-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":30883,"position":3},"title":"Spring Clark’s Grebe Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing a few spring Clark's Grebe images today that I took up in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the first week of April.","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":"Pair of Clark's Grebes in early spring, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/clarks-grebe-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-2649.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/clarks-grebe-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-2649.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/clarks-grebe-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-2649.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/clarks-grebe-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-2649.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116223,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/24\/demure-looking-western-grebe\/","url_meta":{"origin":30883,"position":4},"title":"Demure Looking Western Grebe","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, I photographed this demure looking Western Grebe on one of the water units from the auto tour loop at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","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":"Demure looking Western Grebe at Bear River MBR, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/western-grebe-demure-adult-mia-mcpherson-0816.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/western-grebe-demure-adult-mia-mcpherson-0816.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/western-grebe-demure-adult-mia-mcpherson-0816.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/western-grebe-demure-adult-mia-mcpherson-0816.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34094,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/12\/11\/a-clarks-grebe-and-its-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":30883,"position":5},"title":"Clark’s Grebe and its prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this year I photographed this Clark's Grebe and its prey at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge 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":"Clark's Grebe and its prey at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, 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