Quarry Curiosities, Part 2 - The Red-necked Grebe

Or, "Life below the Surface "

The ice had melted, but not all the snow, when a Red-necked Grebe landed on the Halibut Point Quarry last March. These birds can sometimes be seen at sea or along the shore during the winter. It was the only time I've seen one in this freshwater sanctuary.



Red-necked Grebe, March 2018

The bird was in transition to breeding plumage, just beginning to show the more vivid coloration for which it is named.

Beside the beaver lodge

I wondered if it had come for a brief respite or recuperation. It made the rounds and stayed a week. 




That meant it had to be either flying out daily for food or finding it here.

The grebe soon answered that question. Diving like a cormorant it brought up a fish.

This was not a minnow like the Ring-billed Gull had caught at the surface. The grebe shook its prize to subdue it before swallowing.

The grebe revealed its out-sized propulsion system for out-swimming fish under water. I had a new ally for exploring life below the surface.

Next week: the Green Heron