Banner Photo by Ann Kramer

Featured Bird

Western Grebe by Graham Deese/Macaulay Library

MEET THE WESTERN GREBE (Aechmophorus occidentalis)

by Jeff Sinker

Perhaps there are few waterbirds as beautiful as the Western Grebe, setting itself apart with an elegant, long white neck, sharply defined against dense, waterproof, black-and-white body plumage. Add the slender, pointed, long, greenish-to-yellowish bill, complete the picture with a bright red eye, and before you is the Western Grebe.

Rarely coming on land and only sporadically seen in flight, because they migrate at night, Western Grebes nonetheless have a reputation for being charismatic and interesting birds. A mating pair will perform a “ballet” by dashing across a freshwater lake, in near perfect synchronization, bills pointed skyward and long necks curved gracefully, as they cement their bond before beginning to construct a nest near the shoreline, in thick emergent vegetation, that can be 2-3 feet wide when finished.

Large freshwater lakes with abundant reeds and marshy shorelines may host hundreds of breeding pairs. A successful pair will have one brood of 2-3 chicks and after hatching, the downy-covered chicks ride on the backs of their parents until they are older. Western Grebes feed mostly on fish, are excellent swimmers, and are capable of deep, long dives. They also eat salamanders, aquatic insects, larvae and similar prey.

During breeding and nesting season, Western Grebes are especially sensitive to disturbance (particularly from watercraft) and in all seasons exposure to pesticides, oil spills, gill nets, and loss of wetlands can have undesirable effects on their population.

Learn more: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Grebe

Photo: Western Grebe by Graham Deese/Macaulay Library

Range Map: Blue (non-breeding); Yellow (migration); Purple (year-round); Pink (breeding)