From the Field: Baby Pied-billed Grebes

Submitted by BSBO Development Assistant Tracy Marr

The pied-billed grebe.  A small diver with big feet.  Cute, not beautiful.  Subtle coloration, not gaudy.  The ability to do a submarine sink beneath the water and a distinctive call you can hear across the marsh.  For some reason, I love them. Several years ago, I realized it’s very peaceful to watch them float on the water, dive and re-appear, dive and re-appear.

​And then I saw the babies. Young pied-billed grebes have a cuteness factor of infinity; there’s no end to it. Seeing their zebra-striped heads with a flash of tiger orange on the back, my casual interest turned to fascination and even thralldom.  I now spend the summer months at Ottawa NWR and Howard Marsh Metropark, waiting for the babies to appear and watching

them grow up.  For such tiny juveniles, they can put on a burst of speed when they see an adult come up from a dive with food.  And sometimes, they add a tiny squeal to their zoom across the water to show their excitement. (Baby American coot and common gallinules have their odd charm, also.)​

Pied-billed Grebe with six babies!

I knew from my reading that, as with loons, the young grebes will sometimes ride on its parent’s back.  I always looked with hope but never thought I would actually see it for myself.  But it happened!

Early this August, I was doing an early morning walk around Howard Marsh West. Most of the young grebes were already half-grown, but I still enjoyed watching the family interactions.  Then I saw a group of chicks that looked quite young.  My obsession with baby grebes means I have to photograph nearly every one I see.  While I was watching and photographing, I thought I saw something roll off the back of the adult.  Was it?  It was!!  My excitement soared, and I was able to watch the baby get on and off several times before the family moved off into the reeds.
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It was time to get to work anyway, so off I rushed to share my best sighting of the summer. And I’m more determined to get out to the marsh more frequently next year.
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