Blog Archives
Treasures Found
Friends, this baby pied bill grebe is starting to get some real feathers on his wing and celebrating by stretching them out for all the world to see. He is kind of a drab color but i love when the natural history of the wild comes thru in an image, and i caught it for just an moment in time, however with all the images i shot last summer, i did not recognize the value in this image, but now that life has slowed and it is snowing outside again today, i now have time to peruse and process images of the past. til Tomorrow MJ
A Summer Song
Friends, this winter weather is getting me down, but here is a summer image to pick me up and wash away the blues, This adult Pied Billed Grebe is very small and baby begging is even smaller. They are brave and come within mere feet of my vehicle. The babies sit in the lily pads and wait for the adult to come near. When they are done feeding, the adult slips under the water to hunt for more food. Summer seems so far away til Tomorrow MJ
His Environment
Friends, this baby pied billed grebe is begging food from his mom, and in the bottom image he is grown and no longer using the lily pads for cover. Now he is swimming on the big water and getting his own food. I love these little birds as they are always around on Phantom Lake, constantly fishing for food. I am experimenting (again) with a crop that includes his water trail and his eye. Do you like this kind of crop? til Tomorrow MJ
Begging for Food
Friends, this pied billed grebe is very small and photographers often miss her and her chicks when they are hidden among the lily pads. This particular bird had six chicks that were fast approaching her size, and even thou they were diving for their own food, she was still feeding an occasional morsel and so the younger bird is begging for food. I like the two heads telling the story. Would you edit out the spent lily bloom in front of the adult bird? til Tomorrow MJ
Joyous Day
Friends, lots of folks around Crex Meadows have been watching this red-neck grebe’s nest this spring, wondering when will the little ones hatch. Yesterday was the day, in the morning I watched against the sun and saw three little heads riding on the adults, when i visited again in the evening when the light was better, I only saw these two riding on mom, but a third might be hidden somewhere in her feathers. A soft comfy bed to take a nap, I will visit again today to see how they fare in Phantom Lake, this image is a little fuzzy but I had to push my telephoto to get any image at all, enjoy, I know I will til Tomorrow MJ
One More Grebe
Friends, one more horned grebe for your enjoyment, there are a few of these around Crex. Maybe Crex is a stopover on their migration, will be curious to see if they nest here. til Tomorrow MJ
Birds of a Feather?
Friends, A solitary bird will often try to hide when a car approaches. This Horned Grebe was splashing around inside a massive flock of Coots that was trying to stay out of the wind. No discrimination among the birds, the coots seemed to accept this grebe as one of their own, maybe because they all have red eyes, til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Culture
Friends, birders have a culture that includes an addiction to anything birdy, some list birds, watch birds, feed birds and photograph birds. and some like me sit by the marshes waiting for a bird to just show up, this morning i went to see if I could find the loons that i had seen yesterday, but the only bird present in the fishing hole was this tiny grebe, I thought at first that it was one of hundreds of Pied billed grebes that are always around and almost drove past, but just for giggles i put my binocs on it and shreeked for joy, I have never seen the horned grebe up close, but here he is in all his breeding finery, I love his yellow earmuffs, enjoy, I sure did, til Tomorrow MJ
Grebe
Friends, this adult grebe was hanging out in the sunshine where his beautiful colors were showing. This is a bird who photographs better in the bright sunshine than on a cloudy day. He looks kind of gray without the sun, and a beautiful shade of bronze with the sun. He is called the pied-billed grebe cause his bill is multicolored in the early spring with a dark ring that fades in the late summer. When they sit in the lily pads they are difficult to see unless they move and give away their position. til Tomorrow MJ
Baby Grebe
Friends, among the lily pads three small chicks swim quietly, you can barely see them, but they are baby chicks of the pied billed grebe. Pretty striping on their heads will disappear as they get older and turn into a solid colored adult. Below is an image of mama grebe feeding her babies, love the spring and summer season. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 