{"id":677,"date":"2010-09-01T18:52:56","date_gmt":"2010-09-02T00:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=677"},"modified":"2025-07-22T11:40:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:40:58","slug":"two-grebe-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/09\/01\/two-grebe-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Comparing Two Grebe Species"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Two grebe species that are often misidentified are the Clark&#8217;s and Western Grebes. The Clark&#8217;s and Western Grebes are very closely related and they can be difficult to distinguish. Western and Clark&#8217;s Grebes are found strictly in North America, they share the same types of habitat and breeding grounds. Both species are very gregarious throughout the year. Until 1985 they were thought to be the same species that were classified as different color forms. Today we know them as two separate species.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-143767 size-full\" title=\"Clark's Grebe on rippled water, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227.jpg\" alt=\"Clark's Grebe on rippled water, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" data-id=\"11056\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\"> Clark&#8217;s Grebe on rippled water &#8211;\u00a0 D200, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 250, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a0This Clark&#8217;s Grebe <em>(Aechmophorus clarkii<\/em>) image was taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah. Though similar in form to the Western there are some differences.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The Clark&#8217;s has a bright orange to yellow bill<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The black crest of the Clark&#8217;s does not reach the eye, there is a thin white area between the\u00a0crest and the red of the eye<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The Clark&#8217;s has a thin black line on the nape and the neck itself is thin<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The back of the Clark&#8217;s grebe is mostly\u00a0gray and white usually shows on the bird&#8217;s flanks<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Clark&#8217;s Grebe above had just come up from a dive, the dark gray feathers of the back do look darker than normal when wet.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #888888;\"><strong>\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-150585 size-full\" title=\"Western Grebe in open water, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159.jpg\" alt=\"Western Grebe in open water, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8159.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/strong>Western Grebe in open water &#8211;\u00a0 D200, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 200, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This Western Grebe <em>(Aechmophorus occidentalis)<\/em> image was taken on the same day as the Clark&#8217;s Grebe at the same location. Without looking closely it would be easy to mistake it for a Clark&#8217;s or vice versa.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The bill of the Western Grebe is a greenish yellow and it is slightly upturned<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The black crown of the Western extends below the eye, in non-breeding plumage the dark part around the eye can be a bit lighter<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The S-shaped neck of a Western Grebe is slightly thicker than the Clark&#8217;s and the black neck stripe of the nape is shaped a little differently<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">The Western Grebe has a dark gray back and white does not usually show on the flanks while the grebe is floating on the water<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Both species rarely come to land because the placement of their legs far back on the body makes it\u00a0awkward for them to walk. Both species make their nests\u00a0from floating vegetation though on occasion the nests are constructed on land. They mainly feed on fresh or saltwater fish and crustaceans. Both species winter along the pacific coast of the southwest and Mexico.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Personally I find the calls of the Western and the Clark&#8217;s Grebes to be delightful, especially when they squabble with each other.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Both of these grebes can be challenging to expose correctly because of the white whites and the dark plumage. Early morning, late afternoon or diffused light is best as well as using careful exposure compensation evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/clarks-grebe-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Clark\u2019s Grebe photos plus facts and information about this species. Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/western-grebe-images\/\">here<\/a> <\/span>to see more of my Western Grebe photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two Grebe species that are often misidentified are the Clark&#8217;s and Western Grebes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143767,"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":[124,163,27,1148,162,26,161],"tags":[4051,4155,699,215,164,4804,4982,877,707,4094,3972,165,4095],"class_list":["post-677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-bird-identification","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-clarks-grebes","category-utah","category-western-grebes","tag-adults","tag-aechmophorus-clarkii","tag-aechmophorus-occidentalis","tag-bird-id","tag-bird-identification-2","tag-comparing","tag-comparison","tag-grebe","tag-grebes-2","tag-marsh","tag-northern-utah","tag-spring","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-8227.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-aV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101210,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/29\/clarks-and-western-grebe-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":677,"position":0},"title":"Clark&#8217;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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":116223,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/24\/demure-looking-western-grebe\/","url_meta":{"origin":677,"position":1},"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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":101597,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/14\/spring-clarks-grebe-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":677,"position":2},"title":"Spring Clark&#8217;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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":125552,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/23\/pair-of-clarks-grebes-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":677,"position":3},"title":"Pair Of Clark&#8217;s Grebes At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On my most recent trip to Bear River MBR, I stopped my Jeep on the west side of the auto tour loop to take a few images of a pair of Clark's Grebes.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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 on the last day of winter, 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-adult-pair-mia-mcpherson-0776.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-adult-pair-mia-mcpherson-0776.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-pair-mia-mcpherson-0776.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-pair-mia-mcpherson-0776.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107699,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/02\/immature-clarks-grebe-and-a-mystery\/","url_meta":{"origin":677,"position":4},"title":"Immature Clark&#8217;s Grebe And A Mystery","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I came across an immature Clark's Grebe on Monday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I took photos of the grebe because I could see something on its fluffy neck.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Immature Clark's Grebe with something on its neck, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/clarks-grebe-immature-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3188.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/clarks-grebe-immature-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3188.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/clarks-grebe-immature-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3188.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/clarks-grebe-immature-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3188.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5171,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/12\/hitching-a-ride-grebe-chicks\/","url_meta":{"origin":677,"position":5},"title":"Hitching A Ride &#8211; Grebe Chicks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Grebe chicks are showing up all over at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (aka Bear River National Wildlife Refuge) in northern Utah and they are just adorable to see and photograph.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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 Western Grebe with three chicks on its back, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebes-mia-mcpherson-6735.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-grebes-mia-mcpherson-6735.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebes-mia-mcpherson-6735.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/western-grebes-mia-mcpherson-6735.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677","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=677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}