This week I have some images of Horned Grebes and their grebettes which is what baby grebes are called. Yellowknifers are quite fortunate to have a number of small lakes within city limits where you can see over 100 different bird species. One of the lakes is a reclaimed sewage pond surrounded by a walking trail. This is one of the best spots to go birding as the birds are quite tolerant of people which means you can get close to them without them flying away.
Horned grebes are regular nesters at this spot along with American Widgeons, Mallards, Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, Lesser Scaup and Red-necked grebes. It gets pretty busy during the summer months!
Grebettes can dive within a day of hatching but usually stay on the nest for some time before foraging on their own. The black and white patterning on their heads is camouflage which works surprisingly well to hide them amongst the cattails and grasses where Horned Grebes usually nest.
By the time grebettes hatch, parents are starting to molt their breeding feathers to their wintering feathers which can make them look a little like very weary parents. Both parents will look after the young for about two weeks after which they may “divorce” each looking after one or more young. After about a month parents may leave the grebettes to fend for themselves.
I have seen young grebes as late as September and it made me wonder about how young birds navigate migration. I was under the impression that migration is learned as many other species migrate with their young. Perhaps it is instinct alone that guides the youngsters south.
The oldest recorded Horned Grebe was at least 5 years, 11 months old when it was recaptured and re-released during banding operations in the Northwest Territories, Canada, in 2007, the same place where it had been banded in 2002.*
*Cornell Lab of Ornithology