grebe caught fish
Grebe 1: "OK, I got this nice fish, see?" Grebe 2: "Sure looks good and juicy!"

2021/04/18 – Grebe swallowing fish

The whole action, according to the time stamps on the 101 pictures I took lasted only 54 seconds.
I only posted 16 pics in this gallery, but it took this grebe 3 tries before succeeding in swallowing the fish.
It was a fascinating moment seeing him trying so hard to eat it, even though it seemed too big. But you know the saying: “if you failed, try, and try again…”

Grebes are very common. There are seven types of grebes in North America. The birds in my pictures are Western grebes.
Having spent way too many hours working on these pictures, I will not be very wordy this time.
Nevertheless, here are a few unusual facts about these birds:
1. When preening, grebes swallow their own feathers and feed them to their young.
2. The young grebe can swim immediately after birth.
3. The males far outnumber the females
4. They have a semi-monogamous behavior, staying with a mate possibly only for a season.
5. They do something strange with their feet called “foot shipping“. I have never observed it, but you can see it and read all about by following the link I provided.

 

2 comments

    • Sansay says:

      Thank you Michael. We will be fully vaccinated by next weekend. Let’s get together soon 😀
      Correction: we will be fully vaccinated this weekend!

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