A Ruffled Western Grebe

With over 150 shots of Western/Clark’s Grebes taken on the two previous visits, I was looking for different birds not more grebes on our last drive through Bear River. However, while scanning for birds this Western Grebe looked different from others I had seen. It was off by itself instead of paired off, and, more importantly, her feathers looked oddly “ruffled.” A closer look quickly revealed why.

This Western Grebe had two rather large chicks on her back,

GrebBabies

and though it was too far out to hear, one chick was particularly vocal,

GrebBabies2

even while its sibling seemed content to doze off.

GrebBabies3

It wasn’t until I examined the photos on my computer that I even realized that there was a sleepy third sibling.

GrebBabies4

It wasn’t long before we realized that it was dad that they youngster was calling to.

GrebBabies5

Dad didn’t appear to have a fish, but he headed directly to the mother and her youngsters and fed one of the chicks.

GrebBabies6