Pied-billed Grebe

 The pied-billed grebe is the second smallest grebe found in North America. Only the least grebe, which is only found in Texas and Mexico in North America, is smaller. Grebes are often mistaken for ducks but they differ from ducks in that they have lobed toes instead of webbed feet.

 Pie-billed grebes are not strong fliers. They are much more likely to dive under the water than they are to fly away if danger approaches.When the dive under the water they often do so by sinking straight down, much like a submarine, with their head being the last thing to submerge. Under the water they are excellent swimmers. They are able to trap water in their feathers to help control their buoyancy.

 Young pied-billed grebes usually leave the nest a day after they hatch. While they are able to swim almost immediately they typically spend most of their first week riding on one of their parents back. Immature grebes are easily identified by the striking feather patterns on their face.

Pied-billed Grebe

Happy BirthDay

Today, April 22, is Earth Day. It's a special day where we show our appreciation for the natural world and are more aware of the things that we need to do to preserve it.On Earth Day 2007 I began the Ecobirder Blog. During the past six years there have been good times and bad times, there have been days where I could not wait to share pictures and posts and days where it took almost every thing that I had to write a post for the day. During all this time many of you have visited often and left comments and encouragements for which I would like to thank you. With out you this blog would not be here. It has become kind of a tradition to share pics from the calendars that I make each year on this special day. So keeping with tradion here are the pictures from the 2013 Ecobirder Calendar. 

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Ferruginous pygmy owl San Miguelito Ranch, Tx

 Altamira oriole at Bentsen State Park, Tx

Sandhill crane colt Necedah NWR, Wi

Western grebe Bosque del Apache, NM

Cabbage white butterfly River Bend Nature Center, MN

Red-headed woodpeckers Necedah NWR, Wi.

Gold-fronted woodpecker  Santa Ana NWR, Texas.

 Pied-billed grebe Crex Meadows, Wi

Black Bear Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, MN

 Gulf Fritillary Santa Ana NWR, Texas.

 Sandhill cranes Boque del Apache, MN

Northern Saw-whet owl Dodge Nature Center, MN

Thanks for a great year!

Immature Pied-billed Grebe

Immature Pied-billed Grebe

 The pied-billed grebe is a good example of a bird that knows the meaning of family. Both parents share the duty of incubating the eggs. If they have to leave the nest alone for an extended period of time they will cover the eggs up with nesting material to keep them safe. When the chicks are born they are not able to swim very well for several weeks so they get around by hitching a ride on mom or dad's back. Sometimes the parent will even hunt with the chick on their back, diving under the water with the chick riding shotgun. Even after they are able to swim on their own they will still jump on their parents back if there is danger. Eventually they get to the point where they are too big to hitch a ride any more, like the one above, but the parents will still feed them while they are teaching them the lessons that they will need to survive on their own.

Tuesday Tweets

 The pied-billed grebe is the most widely distributed grebe in North America. They are found through out the  continent except in the far northern reaches. In much of their range they are year round residents however in in the north east and north central they migrate south from the breeding range for the winter. Even though young pied-billed grebes often leave the nest soon after they hatch they spend most of their time on the backs of their parents. By the time that they are four weeks old they spend most of their time on the water. This is an immature bird.

Welcome to Tuesday Tweets! To join in the fun just post a photo of a bird and then link it by here by using the handy dandy link below. Then make sure you visit other sites to do a little bird watching.

Tuesday Tweets

The pied-billed grebe is a small grebe that can be found through out most of North America, Central America and parts of South America. Here where I live in Minnesota pied-billed grebes are here breeding during the warmer months. They are most often seen in the water and hardly ever seen in flight. When they migrate they usually fly at night. When potential danger is near they will sink under the surface of the water, sort of like a submarine, and swim to safety.

Welcome to Tuesday Tweets. To join in the fun, just post a photo of a bird on your blog then come here and enter your information in the inlinkz tool down below. Don't forget to put a link back to here on your blog and the pretty little banner photo. Then visit all of the sites that participate to see a lot of cool bird pics.

Pied-billed Grebe

Do you know what type of bird this is? Many non-birders that I have asked have guessed that it was some type of a duck. However contrary to popular belief not all small waterfowl are ducks. This is in fact a pied-billed grebe, the most widely distributed species of grebes in North America. Grebes differ from ducks in a number of ways but probably the most obvious is their feet. Ducks have webbed feet where grebes have lobed toes that aid them in swimming. Grebes are somewhat similar to loons and in fact they were once part of the same family. However with modern testing there was enough difference between loons and grebes that grebes were given a family of their own, Podicipedidae. There are 22 different species of grebes that are separated into 6 genus. The pied-billed grebe is the only living member of the genus Podilymbus.

Water Pied-Billed Grebe

As fall begins to move into the north the birds begin their migration back to their wintering grounds. One of the birds that we see migrating already are the pied-billed grebes. Many will stop over on lakes along the way to do some fishing and build up their reserves for the rest of their long trip which will end in the southern United States, Mexico, Central or South America.

Natures Submarine

The pied-billed grebe is the second smallest grebe found in North America. Although grebes look a lot like ducks they do not have webbed feet like ducks do. Instead they have lobed toes with webbing connecting the toes. Because of this grebes are classified under the order Podicipediformes.
Least grebes spend the majority of their life in the water. They nest on floating rafts of vegetation. The chicks leave the nest for the water almost immediately after hatching, although in their first week they spend most of their time riding on the back of their parents. If danger approaches the grebe will sink under the water. This always reminds me of the way that a submarine dives. During the winter the pied-billed grebe migrates at night to wetlands in the southern portions of North America.

Pied-billed Grebe

Immature Pied-billed Grebe

Wouldn't You Want to Take One Home?

As one of my favorite subjects to photograph on the water there is little more that I can write about the pied-billed grebe that I have not already written about in the past.

I think that it is their small size that makes you want to take them home and have them live in an inflatable pool in the back yard. That would not be good for the bird though so you just have to suppress those kinds of ideas and remember that it is much better to have a picture of them wild and free at Crex Meadows.

Besides Michelle already gives me dirty looks when I talk about getting a third cat.

I think that the best pied-billed grebe pictures are when you catch them in the lily pads. It adds a little more character to the background of the picture then just plain blue water. If your lucky you might get a turtle to join in the shot, as in the first pic. Just be careful because pied-bills are usually kind of nervous so any small noise will cause them to sink under the water and disappear.

The Adventures of Clown Duck?

When you look at this bird you may not know at first glance what type of waterfowl that it is. From its looks you might think that it is called a clown duck or something of that sort, but in actuality it is common throughout most of North America and parts of South America.

The bird in these photos is an immature pied-billed grebe, the second smallest grebe found in North America. These grebes breed on ponds, lakes, marshes and sloughs with a lot of vegetation, like Phantom Lake in Crex Meadows where I took these photos. The nest is a bowl style construction built on floating vegetation and anchored with cattails. The female will usually lay between 4 to 8 eggs which both parents will incubate for approximately 23 days. If both parents leave the nest they will cover the eggs up with vegetation.

Chicks can leave the nest about a day after hatching but spend most of their first week asleep on the backs of their parents. By about three to four weeks they will spend most of their time in the water. At first when there is a possibility of danger they will go back to the safety of their parents back but eventually they learn to dive under the water to avoid danger.

Pied-billed Grebe

The fall migration is in full swing here in Minnesota and one of the birds that we often see around this time of the year, as well as early spring, are the pied-billed grebe. The Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin offer a lot of excellent habitat for the waterfowl to use as a stop over on their long flights. The many lakes, rivers, ponds and other wetlands offer a place where they can find food and rest.
Fall is fun, because it is a great time to observe immature birds who are making the trip for the first time. Pied-billed grebes nest through out most of North America and Central America as well as the southern portions of South America. Many stay on their breeding grounds all year round, but those that nest in the northern portions of their range, Canada, the Great Lakes area and Midwest United States, migrate south for the winter.

Immature grebes usually stay fairly close to an adult. The adult keeps a wary eye out for danger and will also feed the young fish, crustaceans and aquatic insects. If danger is near the grebes will sink under the water instead of flying away. The young will follow the lead of the adult. These pics were taken at Crex Meadows in Wisconsin.