On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 10:09 AM, Bob Sullivan <rf.sulli...@gmail.com> wrote: > Frank, > That's wonderful. > Is that nest dry or what? > Regards, Bob S.
Thanks, Bob. This particular nest is a floating platform (presumably tethered to the waterway bottom) put there by park authorities in hopes that the grebes add twigs, branches, etc. and will nest. They've been doing this for some 5 or 6 years now, and every year the grebes take the hint. However, they're easily spooked, by other birds/animals and by curious humans and their dogs (just this year I saw someone let their dog jump into the water about 20 yards from the nest - the grebes were ~not~ impressed). There are signs all over the place to leave the grebes alone, stay away and not make noise. Problem is that they'll leave their nest until the perceived predator/disturbance goes away, but in the meanwhile gulls will often pilfer the egg. I say "egg" in the singular, because they usually only lay one egg per year. Sadly, despite the fact grebes have been nesting hear for several years, they've never been able to hatch an egg. There are at least two (maybe three) couples in the area, but we've never had a baby grebe. So far this nest seems to be doing well - fingers crossed that we'll finally have success... cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- 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.
