Western Grebe Sweeties

by Judi Dressler

Title

Western Grebe Sweeties

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Western Grebes are one of my favorite birds to photograph. Elegant, great divers and fast swimmers underwater, they are also fun to watch while courting. The larger male will catch fish and offer them as gifts to the female, and they have courting rituals such a weed ceremony and a rushing or dancing ceremony. In this image they are simply swimming side by side, enjoying each other's company.

Setting off crisp black-and-white plumage with a yellow bill and red eye, the slender Western Grebe is an elegant presence on lakes and ocean coasts of western North America. Western Grebes are highly gregarious at all seasons, nesting in colonies and wintering in flocks. Their thin, reedy calls are characteristic sounds of western marshes in summer. Along with its close relative, the Clark’s Grebe, it’s renowned for a ballet-like courtship display in which male and female “run” across the water in synchrony, their long necks curved in an S-shape. These waterbirds rarely come ashore, instead taking long dives to catch fish and other aquatic animals.

Photo taken on May 22nd, 2020, in Brighton, Colorado

--------------------------------------------

Descriptive keywords and tags for this image include western grebes, grebes, waterfowl, couple, courting, pair, sweeties, spring, aechmophorus occidentalis, podicipedidae, swimming, lake, water, pond, ducks, birds, wild, wildlife, colorado, judi dressler, and dressler.

Uploaded

May 24th, 2020

Statistics

Viewed 861 Times  -  Last Visitor from White Plains, NY on 04/15/2024 at 6:01 PM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags