Tag: eared grebe

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Red-crested Cardinal

A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, Kauai, Hawaii.
A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, looking for food
A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, looking for food

One of the more interesting birds I got to spend time photographing on my recent Kauai trip was the Red-crested Cardinal. This turned out to be a relatively tame bird, and I had several occasions to get quite close. I found that sitting on the ground and waiting for them to approach provided both a stable (and low) position from which to take photos, and allowed me to remain very still so as not to spook them.

A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, looking for food
A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, looking for food

Natively found in South America, this species was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 1930s. Even though its common name includes “cardinal”, it is not closely related to other cardinals, including the common Northern Cardinal found in eastern North America. Rather, the Red-crested is part of the Tanager family. Males and females are similarly colored, while immature birds have a dull orange color to their crest.

A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, Kauai, Hawaii.
A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, Kauai, Hawaii.

Ultimately, I spent quite a bit of time with a few of these feisty looking little birds. The longer I sat with them, the more used to me they became. In fact, on several occasions, they got within a foot or two, far too close for my lens’ minimum focus distance. At that point I wished I had a second body with a wide angle lens attached – it would have made for a very unique photo!

A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, Kauai, Hawaii.
A red-crested cardinal stands in short grass, Kauai, Hawaii.
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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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The winter plumage nemesis

An eared grebe in breeding plumage swims through the water

As a bird photographer, I strive to know as much about my subjects as possible. This not only helps me to quickly identify the species for stock photo sales purposes, but also to understand behavior in order to be in the right place at the right time. No matter what you’re photographing, the better you know your subject the better and more intimate your photos will be.

One problem area that crops up occasionally in identifying a particular species is a bird’s breeding plumage vs. its winter plumage. Many species molt into a different color and pattern of feathers, some as many as four times a year! Often a bird can look completely different in the winter than they do in the summer (during breeding season). Winter plumage tends to be more drab and monochromatic and it makes certain species very difficult to distinguish from one another. Below are two photos, one of an eared grebe and one of a horned grebe, both in winter colors.

An eared grebe in winter plumage swims through the water in between dives
An eared grebe in winter plumage swims through the water in between dives
A horned grebe in winter plumage swims through colorful water
A horned grebe in winter plumage swims through colorful water

These two grebes can be very difficult to tell apart, especially when one is only given quick views in between dives. Eared grebes tend to have more dark feathers on the front of their neck, whereas horned grebes have no dark feathers there (though that rule isn’t hard and fast). Another distinguishing characteristic is the presence of darker feathers beneath an imaginary line drawn from the end of the bill, underneath the eye, and around the back of the neck. Eared grebes have dark feathers here, while horned grebes don’t. Finally, eared grebes have a bill which turns ever so slightly up at the tip, while the horned grebes’ bill turns slightly down.

As you can see, these differences are slight, and make the two birds difficult to identify with certainty. Now compare the two birds in breeding plumage.

An eared grebe in breeding plumage swims through the water
An eared grebe in breeding plumage swims through the water
A horned grebe swims through the water, just coming into breeding plumage
A horned grebe swims through the water, just coming into breeding plumage

Not only are the birds very easy to tell apart, but they look nothing like their winter counterparts. The basic shapes of the birds are consistent, but the colors and additional feather patterns introduced into the breeding plumage keep the novice bird watcher on his toes. This type of challenge can only be overcome through experience (and frustration!). I can have a beautiful photo of a bird in the best light, but without properly identifying the species, the image isn’t salable. Luckily I have experienced friends who can help me get on the right track when I find myself with a tricky ID.

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen