I’ve always enjoyed spending time with Western Grebes but until this past summer I’ve had very little success in photographing parents back-brooding their chicks. In June at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge my luck with this behavior changed and I was able to get quite a few nice images of the chicks on the backs of the parents over many days.
Here, two chicks wait patiently on the back of one of the parents while the other one attempts to catch fish for breakfast. The fishing parent would feed small fish to both chicks and to the brooding parent. The chicks watch attentively for the adult to emerge from the nearby water with something to eat.
I was always torn about what to photograph – the parent with the fish or the reactions of the chicks to approaching food. In this case I chose the latter. Here, the chick on the right has just spotted its parent come up out of the water from behind with a small fish and is beginning to react.
Usually, both chicks were hungry and competed for the food but this time the youngster on the left was full and not interested in anything to eat. But the chick on the right didn’t know that and went into full competetive begging mode.
I always enjoyed watching these reactions to food.
Ron
Oh, what fun and fabulous pictures! Western Grebes don’t show up in my eastern N.A. field guides, so I’ll have to assume that’s mom – either way, (s)he seems unconcerned with the racket going on behind her!
that. is. DELIGHTFUL! =) I’ve never seen that in this (gloriously beautiful and elegant) bird.
I love the babies, and the baby behavior is always entertaining. Thank you!
And that parent gives a whole new meaning to red-eye in photos. Our baby galahs are also very, very noisy as they beg for food. Even when they are capable of feeding themselves they seem to get comfort from being fed and will continue to beg. One day last season the youngster had been complaining for a very long time when the parent (I assume it was a parent) reached over and rapped it smartly on the top of the head. The noise stopped immediately and we and the adult all breathed sighs of relief.
Funny story, Elephant’s Child. IMO, more human parents should follow a similar practice with their children, especially when out in public.
Beautiful creatures!!!
Aren’t they, Nicole? And those chicks are cute but they’re incredibly noisy when they’re hungry, which is most of the time. Don’t know how the parents put up with it…
Excellent series of photographs on the Grebes, well done Ron.
Thanks very much, Jim.
Again, truly fascinating! I especially enjoy seeing “relationship” behaviors.
Thank you, Leisa. I enjoy seeing them too, in photographs and in person.