Fishing in the bay

  

 Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) in Tomales Bay, 26 November 2020

Floating

 

Pied-billed Grebes (Podilymbus podiceps), resting among floating algae at the north end of Bodega Harbor, 26 October 2018.

 

In the bay

These are somewhat distant shots, but I haven't shown photos of these species before.  Both were taken in Bodega Bay (in the water off Pinnacle Gulch) on 7 October 2018. [You can click on the images for slightly larger versions.]

 

Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)

 

Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) 

 

Winter waterbirds

Thanks to Audubon Canyon Ranch, I spent some time helping with a winter waterbird survey in Tomales Bay this morning.  Although we were very busy counting for most of the trip, I snapped a few photos to document the day.  

Green water along the shoreline of Point Reyes:

 

Low clouds among the trees:

 

A Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) — just one of many:

 

It was fun to see a nice variety and good numbers of waterbirds out there.  If you'd like to learn more about these long-term waterbird surveys (conducted since 1989!), check out ACR's web page here. 

Time to be social

I went out for a quick peak at Bodega Harbor at the end of the day and noticed this flock of birds near Porto Bodega.  How many do you count?  Can you tell what they are?

 

I'll zoom in a little closer.  Even though these are silhouettes, I think you'll be able to see enough characteristics to help you with the identification:

 

Did you notice the relatively short tail (or what sometimes looks like a lack of a tail), the rounded head, and the stout bill?

Here's one individual in slightly better light:

 

I counted thirteen individuals in this flock of Pied-billed Grebes (Podilymbus podiceps) — see first photo.  

I decided to write about Pied-billed Grebes tonight because I don't often see larger flocks of this species, and I thought it would be fun to ask if you've seen large gatherings of Pied-billed Grebes and if so, what's the largest number of individuals you've recorded?

A few fun facts about Pied-billed Grebes:

Males are generally larger than females, and have heavier bills.  If you've noticed subtle size variation among individuals, it could be a difference between males and females.

 

Their stout bills are somewhat unusual for grebes.  The shape is helpful for handling crustaceans (such as crayfish).

Although highly territorial during the breeding season, Pied-billed Grebes are apparently more social during the non-breeding season.

 

Facts above from The Birds of North America account by Muller and Storer (1999).

Eyes not ears

 

I made a quick stop at the Spud Point Marina after work and took a few photos of Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) swimming and diving near the docks.

Eared Grebes are named for the golden feathers that fan out behind their eyes in breeding plumage.  At this time of year, they're still in non-breeding plumage, so the golden "ear tufts" aren't visible yet, but their brilliant red eyes really stand out, especially in the right light.

 

For comparison, here's an image of a Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) that I took on 3 April 2012 (also at Spud Point).

Watch for rafts of Eared Grebes off of Bodega Head during the spring.  And for examples of these large concentrations, see posts from last March and last April (in breeding plumage).

 

Queen of the Universe

Today I received an interesting e-mail from Alice about a bird sighting from Bodega Head on 17 April 2013:

"We saw a long string of big floating clumps of birds, probably around 500 individuals altogether, floating around offshore out in the kelp, drifting northwest with the winds, splashing around as they prepared to dive, and reappearing again in with their neighbors.  These birds appeared to be brown, not black or black and white.  The binocs didn’t give us any details at all.  I know this isn’t much to go by, but we thought we’d see if you know what we’re talking about.  Any thoughts you might have would be helpful.  If you are able to tell us what they were, that will make you the Queen of the Universe!"

Queen of the Universe!  Now how could I turn that down!  ;)

In this case, there are two things going for us.  Alice explained the setting, provided a general description of the birds and their behavior, and recounted the numbers involved — all important.  I spent a few minutes looking offshore myself on April 15, just two days before, so I have an idea of which species might match this description...and, just by chance, I took photos.  Perhaps I can be Queen of the Universe!

Here's a distant photo of a large raft of small brown birds.

 

Next I'll zoom in so you can see some of the field marks.  

 

Note the small size and compact body; short, thin bill; peaked head; dark neck and back blending into beautiful chestnut-colored sides and flanks.  On some birds you can see what looks like a bright golden patch on the side of the head.  These are the golden "ears" of the Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) in breeding plumage.

Here's a photo that shows some of the diving behavior.  The grebes almost look like porpoises in this picture!

 

And I can't help including one more image.  When I was reviewing the photos, I was surprised to see the feet of many of the grebes in the next picture.  Their feet are positioned very far back on the body, so look for them trailing behind (especially on birds near the center/right of the photo).

 

So, after Alice sees this post, I'll have to find out if she thinks she saw Eared Grebes yesterday.

How many?

A few days ago on 19 March 2013, the ocean was extremely calm and the light was very gray.  Looking offshore from Bodega Head, there were scattered dark patches that looked like rafts of drifting kelp at first glance.

 

Upon closer inspection, these were large flocks of Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis).

To prove it, here's a zoomed in view of a smaller group, with a few individuals that were starting to dive.  (Entire flocks often submerge at the same time.)

But returning to the first flock. I'm wondering how many birds were in this flock.  It seemed like a large number.  What do you think?  Do you have an estimate?  

 

If you're up to this challenge, here are two additional pictures that might make it easier to see individual birds — the first showing the left side of the flock, and the second showing the right (note the same piece of kelp floating in front of the flock in both photos).  

I haven't actually tried to count yet (although now I may be counting grebes as I go to sleep)...but let me know if you come up with a number!  (Warning: My estimate is below these photos.)

 

 

ADDENDUM (24 March 2013): If you're wondering and would like to compare, I did a quick estimate and came up with 1055 grebes!

Spring diving

Along with the loon yesterday, we saw this species swimming and diving among the docks at Spud Point:

Horned Grebes (Podiceps auritus) are one of six species of grebes found near Bodega Head during the winter.  You may be more familiar with the non-breeding plumage dominated by dark gray and white.  This individual is molting into breeding plumage (there's a good illustration of this transitional plumage in the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America, 6th edition).

This is a relatively small grebe (31-38 cm long), with a short, straight, thick pale-tipped bill (especially compared to Eared Grebes).  Note the red eye with a silver ring around the pupil.

The genus, Podiceps, means "rear foot", and probably refers to the position of the legs/feet so far back on the body.  If you look closely in the first two pictures, you can just make out the lobed feet under water.

 

As with loons, grebes are excellent foot-propelled divers.  Sometimes grebes start with a "springing dive" (see next photo).  Here's a good description:

"The head is arched upward slightly, then forward and downward accompanied by a strong thrust of the hind limbs, causing the forepart of the body to spring entirely clear of the surface and reenter the water more than twelve inches forward of the original position."  From Lawrence, G.E.  1950.  The diving and feeding activity of the Western Grebe on the breeding grounds.  Condor 52:3-16.