I’ve been photographing an interesting variety of Puget Sound spring grebes over the last week. Here’s a selection of photos taken from the fishing pier on the Edmonds, WA, waterfront. There’s a short time window in the spring to catch these birds in full breeding plumage. I was glad to get some photographs before they head north or east to breed.
Red-necked Grebe
The bird in the photo above is a Red-Necked Grebe. These grebes are about the same size as many ducks but have a longer neck and heavily pointed bill. They dive under the water for fish and crustaceans that are their primary food sources. They are also a huge kick to watch as they move from one place to another on the water without flying. The shot below is a Red-necked Grebe “walking” or rather “running” on the water to move to an area where there were more fish.
![A Red-necked Grebe running across the waters of Puget Sound.](https://mcmikephoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/red-necked-grebe-edmonds-mcauliffe-screen-2791.jpg)
Horned Grebe
Horned Grebes are a smaller type of grebe and are stunning in their breeding colors/plumage. The photo below is of a group of Horned Grebes that have been on the waterfront for about a week. During the fall and winter months I can normally find a few Horned Grebes in the area. Lately there’s been a larger group of 12 or more swimming together. This has made for some great group photos. Interesting Fact–a group of grebes is called a “water dance” of grebes. This name refers to their elaborate courtship displays or “dances.”
![Five Horned Grebes in breeding plumage on Puget Sound from the Edmonds, WA, fishing pier.](https://mcmikephoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/horned-grebes-edmonds-mcauliffe-screen-2485.jpg)
Below is a shot of one Horned Grebe swimming right below the fishing pier. This isn’t the greatest angle–it would be much better to be photographing them from the bird’s eye level. Unfortunately I didn’t have that option so settled for this shot.
![A Horned Grebe in breeding plumage on Puget Sound from the Edmonds, WA, fishing pier.](https://mcmikephoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/horned-grebe-edmonds-mcauliffe-screen-1946.jpg)
A better shot of a Horned Grebe in breeding plumage taken from eye level a few years ago can be found in a blog post from last year.
Pied-billed Grebe
A third type of Grebe can frequently be found on Puget Sound. Here’s a recent shot of a Pied-billed Grebe also taken from the Edmonds fishing pier a few weeks ago. Pied-billed Grebes are often found on fresh water ponds and marshes but in the winter also hang out on larger bodies of water like Puget Sound.
![A Pied-billed Grebe on Puget Sound in the Edmonds, WA, marina.](https://mcmikephoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/pied-billed-grebe-edmonds-mcauliffe-screen-1853.jpg)
Stay tuned for my next post which will featured Marbled Murrelets and Rhinoceros Auklets.