Or at least part of the ceremony. One of the potential participants was a reluctant performer.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 2500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @400mm, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning at Bear River MBR this bonded pair of Western Grebes had a definite destination in mind as they swam down the length of one of the canals with the larger male in the lead. I repeatedly stopped my pickup to photograph them but each time they would swim past me at a steady pace and they continued to do so for perhaps 150 yards until they reached a much larger area of open water which was their apparent destination.
At that point their behavior indicated to me that they might begin to perform their iconic and spectacular “Rushing” behavior so I quickly switched to my other camera with my smaller lens attached so I could keep them both in frame if they did so.
Rushing didn’t happen but something else interesting and related did.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
One of the grebes (I’m going to call it the male but it could have been either one because I lost track of which bird was which) dove and came up with a huge beak-full of ‘weeds’ which I immediately recognized as being part of one of their courtship behaviors known as the “Weed Ceremony”. Cornell’s Birds of the World describes the Weed Ceremony as follows:
- Weed-diving follows, in which bird in neck-stretched posture suddenly dives vertically, head entering water near base of neck, bird brings organic material from below, surfacing in erect posture. When one bird dives, second usually does also. When both birds have weeds, they approach, feet churning, and rise into vertical posture with most or all of body out of water, necks stretched upward, bills raised 20° to 80° above horizontal. Birds move slowly forward or spiral, heads may be rotated intermittently from side to side. Display ends when one bird discards weeds with quick head shakes and resumes horizontal body posture; other then follows suit.
I knew that during the ceremony both birds typically have weeds in their bills so that’s exactly what I expected would happen.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 2500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @400mm, not baited, set up or called in
But it didn’t.
He obviously expected his mate to participate, or at least hoped she would, but she rejected his advances and swam to the west as she reached the larger expanse of water, completely ignoring him as she did so. The jilted male looked incredibly disappointed as he stopped in the water and watched her go. He kept the weeds in his bill until it became obvious that his mate wasn’t going to participate before dropping them and following her to the west.
So I wasn’t able to photograph either the Rushing behavior or the complete Weed Ceremony. But I figure an incomplete Weed Ceremony is better than no ceremony at all.
Ron
Looking at the first photo, the male appears to have slightly lighter feathers around his eye and at the back of the white marking at it bend. I don’t see that in the photos of the bird holding the weeds. It might be the female holding the weeds.
Could be, Pam. I didn’t want to call it.
Rejected. Poor fella. ❤️ Hopefully, he’ll get another chance soon and will be found more enticing.
Marty, I suspect that he did and he was.
Weed ceremony started my mind down different paths – despite being educated by you on their ceremony quite some time ago.
Love the reflection and agree with you about the very round shape of her head – symptomatic of the ‘not to today I have a headache’ attitude she displayed.
Thanks Ron, awe and wonder are excellent starts to my day. As is realising that your posts over the years have taught me things – some of which I have retained.
“Weed ceremony started my mind down different paths”
EC, I wondered if anyone would go down that path, just like I did – probably because of a recent conversation with a good friend.
Great shots! Tana and I watched many attempted rushes Wednesday. The two rushes we finally saw were way out in the pond. I did get some photos of rushing from a couple of nights ago but I have not gone over them yet , I have not even taken them off my card! The rushing couple was so close it filled my lens and I cut parts off. I am dying to catch photos of the weed ceremony.
“I am dying to catch photos of the weed ceremony”
I’m feeling the same way, April. The Weed Ceremony with only one active participant doesn’t quite cut it for me.
Thanks, Ron. Such interesting things I continue to learn from you along with the awesome photos. Interesting weed behavior!
Very interesting post Ron. The other he or she spoiled the story and the one who had brought up the weeds certainly looked disappointed. I have seen Western Grebes swim and sometimes dive, but I have never seen one bring anything like that up. I agree with Judy that they are very beautiful birds. I love bird reflection photos and once made a whole photo book of mine. That first photo is a beauty.
Everett, you mention reflections and that first photo. The reflection of the female’s head in that shot makes me smile – it’s distorted into an almost perfectly round shape that to me looks really weird.
Yes, that is an interesting one. Sometimes in calm clear water when the bird or birds are still the reflection is almost mirror like, but at other times when the birds are moving the reflections can become very distorted and can definitely be very amusing.
Most interesting! The stretch of the neck is quite the site. He looks a little perplexed at being spurned… 😦 Maybe the next time will be the charm.
Kathy, he looked both surprised and frustrated to me. Understandably so…
I’m interested to know–do the Grebes ( once they’ve established mutual
acceptability ) eventually use weeds in their nest-building ? It certainly
seems like an offering of some kind toward bonding ?
“do the Grebes… eventually use weeds in their nest-building ?”
They sure do, Kris. The same type (in this case, submerged dead phragmites) that this grebe has in his bill.
Cool even if the female wasn’t interested at the moment.😀 They are beautiful birds. Critters ALWAYS remind us they are not automatons, don’t they?😉
They sure do. Their behavior can only be predicted up to a point, and only sometimes.
Fascinating! Thank you for the photos and explanations. I’ve noticed in birds and mammals, female rejection is common and frequent.
“female rejection is common and frequent”
I’ve experienced it a time or two myself. No fun… 🙂
Thanks, Terri.
What sort of Grebe could spurn such a romantic gesture? I had no idea there were five phases. I would have just assumed he was munching on those weeds. You obviously had done your homework beforehand in order to recognize this ritual. The apparent difference in neck length between the fist and last photo is remarkable.
Lyle, Rushing and the Weed Ceremony are typically integrated with each other. I’ve photographed Rushing several times in the past but the Weed Ceremony has been elusive for me. I’ve done research on it several times in the past so I knew what to expect.
Western Grebes don’t “munch on weeds” because they eat fish exclusively.
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