On Jul 8, 2011, at 7:32 AM, frank theriault wrote: > At Brian's suggestion I added a fourth photo, with one of the parents > sitting on the egg. Here's the new, updated set: > > http://knarfdummyblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/at-home-with-grebes.html > > Thanks, Brian! > > cheers, > frank
Thank you Frank - a very nice series. I haven't seen this species in person nor had I seen the floating nest before. So your pictures sent me off into my reference books. A couple of interesting factoids: "Grebe nests, composed of decaying vegetation, are usually anchored on aquatic plants, quite unlike those of most loons, which are built on shorelines or small islands." "Chicks are able to swim and dive from birth." "As in loons, adults carry chicks on their backs to shelter, protect, and brood them." Predators include large fishes - bass and pike - turtles, herons, gulls, crows, coots, raccoons, minks . . . [All from The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, 2001.] I also noted that the range maps for the Red-necked Grebe show that it is very unusual for them to be that far south. stan -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
