Tag: action

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Amorous Eareds

An eared grebe breeding pair swim close to one another
An eared grebe breeding pair swim close to one another

Recently when I lucked out by capturing four different grebe species in one day at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, I witnessed something new for me – two eared grebes who had paired up for season were not only showcasing their courtship behavior, but were also mating. I was surprised to see this because usually the grebes head north for the summer before mating, and as a result I had never seen this behavior before.

Their courtship seemed to have several stages of intimacy. First, they swam close to each other across the lake as seen above. Suddenly, they would run side by side across the surface of the water (essentially flying very low over the water) and quickly make it to shore, only to turn around and swim slowly back to their starting location.

Part of the eared grebes courtship display is to fly low across the surface of the water together. Once they land nearby, they swim back to their starting location, and proceed to mimic each other. They repeat this cycle of mimicking and flying together until they (usually) mate.
Part of the eared grebes courtship display is to fly low across the surface of the water together. Once they land nearby, they swim back to their starting location, and proceed to mimic each other. They repeat this cycle of mimicking and flying together until they (usually) mate.

Occasionally, they would attract the attention of an unexpected guest in their over water flight.

Occasionally an additional eared grebe or two join a courting pair as they fly low across the surface of the water.
Occasionally an additional eared grebe or two join a courting pair as they fly low across the surface of the water.

Once they had performed this flight several times, they stayed out toward the middle of the water and proceeded to mimic each other, a behavior seen frequently in other grebe courtship displays.

A mating pair of eared grebes court one another by mimicking each other's movements. Here the rise out of the water belly to belly and synchronize their head movements.
A mating pair of eared grebes court one another by mimicking one another’s movements. Here the rise out of the water belly to belly and synchronize their head movements.

After satisfactorily copying one another, there was no putting off the inevitable. It was time to seal the deal.

A male eared grebe mounts a female from behind and flaps his wings rapidly. The mating lasts only a few seconds.
A male eared grebe mounts a female from behind and flaps his wings rapidly. The mating lasts only a few seconds.

As I said before, I was surprised to see actual mating behavior. I have not heard of eared grebes successfully nesting in the area, so I assume this couple soon headed north for a more traditional breeding season together.

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Grebes Galore

An eared grebe in breeding plumage swims through calm water.
An eared grebe in breeding plumage swims through calm water.

Lately I’ve been going through my backlog of unprocessed photos, and I happened upon a collection I took one day at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View. A theme of “grebes” jumped out at me right away, as I had captured on camera four of the five common grebe species in the SF Bay Area, within just a few hundred yards of each other, and all in their breeding plumage.

First up were the beautiful eared grebe (above) and the horned grebe (below). At the peak of their breeding plumage, they are quite easy to differentiate, but in their winter colors, it takes a sharp eye to tell the species apart.

A horned grebe dries itself off after bathing by rising out of the water and shaking vigorously from side to side.
A horned grebe dries itself off after bathing by rising out of the water and shaking vigorously from side to side.

As usual, the eared grebes greatly outnumbered the horned grebes, but both species were mingling and fishing together quite happily.

Closer to shore in a sheltered corner of the lake were several pied-billed grebes. While the eared and horned grebes usually migrate north to breed and raise young, many pied-billed grebes raise their chicks in the Bay Area. When they enter their breeding colors, they gain a thick black band around their bill. In the winter, the bill is a solid bone white color.

A pied-billed grebe in breeding plumage swims through calm water
A pied-billed grebe in breeding plumage swims through calm water

Finally, a clark’s grebe made a brief appearance in the lake, most of which seemed to be under water. Clark’s grebes look similar to the region’s last common grebe, the western grebe. Clark’s grebes also migrate north to mate, however a persistent couple has been trying to raise young over the last few years in another location within Shoreline Park. So far, they have been unsuccessful, with either no chick hatching at all, or the newly hatched young dying within days. A successful nesting would be of great interest to the local birding community, as many have kept watch over this pair’s nest over the last couple of years.

A clark's grebe flaps it wings to reshuffle its feathers as part of its preening routine
A clark’s grebe flaps it wings to reshuffle its feathers as part of its preening routine

I was happy at the variety of grebes that day, and that I caught some of these species at just the right time: after they had molted into breeding colors but before the left for their journey north.

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California State Parks Short Term Fix

Waves crash against sandstone headlands, Salt Point State Park, California
Waves crash against sandstone headlands, Salt Point State Park, California

In honor of the recent good news that nearly all California State Parks that were slated to close yesterday will be saved (at least temporarily), I have created a new portfolio gallery of a selection of images I have creates at CA state parks over the last few years. Please enjoy this small slice of what CA state parks have to offer.

Even with the good news, the long term outlook of the park department is not good. Please show your support by visiting a CA state park this summer, or joining their facebook page.

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Snowy Plover With Chicks

A snowy plover sits with its freshly hatched brood of three chicks
A snowy plover sits with its freshly hatched brood of three chicks

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph a new snowy plover family nesting along the Pacific side of the San Francisco peninsula. Snowy plovers nest up and down the coast of the US in open sand. Well-known nesting grounds are often closed to the public during sensitive nesting periods, but this family managed to survive on a public, widely-used beach.

A snowy plover chick explores a seemingly massive clump of seaweed.
A snowy plover chick explores a seemingly massive clump of seaweed.

Capturing this vulnerable family on camera was a delicate operation. I had to be very careful not to get too close or spend too much time in contact with the family, or risk stressing out the mother or the chicks and causing irreparable harm to them. I paid close attention to the mother, looking for signs of stress or protective behavior.

Two snowy plover siblings explore their new world together
Two snowy plover siblings explore their new world together

I had been looking for an opportunity to photograph snowy plover chicks for over two years. At that time I found and photographed a nesting plover, but never was able to make it back for the hatchlings. The first thing I realized when I found these ones were how quickly they moved! They would each run at a full out sprint in opposite directions. I loved watching their antics and they poked around towering driftwood or climbed mountainous piles of foot-tall seaweed – quite an effort for their inch-tall frames.

Soon however, they found their way back to mom, and attempted to squeeze themselves underneath her protective tent of feathers.

Two snowy plover chicks struggle to push into the protective care of their parent, while a third sibling is already occupying this feathered embrace.
Two snowy plover chicks struggle to push into the protective care of their parent, while a third sibling is already occupying this feathered embrace.

Here the mother already has one chick nestled in her feathers, while the remaining two siblings try to push their way in.

I limited my time with them to only 10 minutes, and made sure to keep my distance. I wanted to make sure the little ones were spending their precious energy foraging for food instead of running from a giant with a camera!

A snowy plover stands along the beach with two newly hatched chicks
A snowy plover stands along the beach with two newly hatched chicks

It was great to see life thriving, especially outside of protected areas. It seems at least this one family was able to adapt to their environment and raise three chicks on a busy beach.

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen