Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Daily Bird: Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebes (Podilymbus podiceps) are becoming quite a favorite of mine. I don't remember ever having seen or even heard of grebes before I started seriously birding a couple of years back, but now I seem to see them everywhere!

Swimming in the green stuff
Swimming in the split pea soup at Brazos Bend State Park

Pied-billed Grebe - 3/16/2009
Enjoying clear waters and sunshine at San Bernard NWR

Pied-billed Grebes are commonly found in fresh water wetlands and small lakes and ponds with marsh grasses and reed vegetation, but they can also be seen in saltwater habitats. I was surprised to find a couple of grebes diving in the choppy waters of Galveston Bay near the Texas City dike last month, in addition to the pair I spotted in the marshy pond of Bay Street Park, just a block or two inland.

Pied-billed Grebe - 3/16/2009


As always, you can click on any of the images above to see a larger version on Flickr, or see a quick slideshow of more of my grebe photos.

4 comments:

Julie G. said...

Fantastic images of a most beautiful bird!

Unknown said...

Simply great shots Kyle

MaineBirder said...

Awesome photos Kyle!

Larry said...

Great shots of the Pied-billed Grebes Kyle! They are one of my favs. I love the way they simply submerge under water like a submarine and the way they carry their young on their backs. Grebes are just cool, period!