{"id":39306,"date":"2016-05-08T06:28:19","date_gmt":"2016-05-08T12:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=39306"},"modified":"2025-03-09T08:40:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T13:40:46","slug":"back-brooding-western-grebes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/05\/08\/back-brooding-western-grebes\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-brooding Western Grebes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Western Grebes are well known for back-brooding their young and that begins immediately after they hatch and continues until they are several weeks in age.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Grebe back-brooding large chick – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> is a great location to consistently see back-brooding Western Grebes during the breeding season and it can be done easily from the auto tour loop.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Grebe back-brooding two chicks – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As I write this it is probably too early to see back-brooding Western or Clark’s Grebes back-brooding at the refuge but it won’t be long before we will all see the young taking piggyback rides on their parents backs.<\/p>\n

Both parents brood their young in this manner and the non-brooding parent spends a lot of time catching prey and bringing it to their young.<\/p>\n

\"Back-broodingBack-brooding Western Grebe – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The juvenile grebes climb up the backs of the adults from behind and them move forward until they are close to the adult’s neck.<\/p>\n

The parents can even make shallow dives with the juveniles on their backs but more often than not they shake their young off of their backs before diving.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Grebe back-brooding its young – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve seen very large chicks climb up on the back of adults both at the Bear River refuge and at Farmington Bay WMA over the years that I have lived in Utah.<\/p>\n

I think I am fondest of seeing the tiny chicks with just their heads sticking out of the feathers on the adult’s back. They make my “cute” alert go off!<\/p>\n

I wish a very Happy Mother’s Day to my mom and to moms everywhere whether they are biological moms or adoptive moms and to moms of our four-legged families too.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a great location to consistently see back-brooding Western Grebes during the breeding season and it can be done easily from the auto tour loop. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_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":[124,27,1148,26,161],"tags":[4004,699,1195,4068,877,707,4071,2371,4014,4193],"class_list":["post-39306","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-back-brooding","tag-chicks","tag-grebe","tag-grebes-2","tag-juvenile","tag-piggyback","tag-western-grebe","tag-young"],"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