Home » Plants & Animals » Birding » Western Grebe

Western Grebe

© Fred J. Kane

Western grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis

Grebe is the common name for any species of water birds, similar to ducks and loons, but not related to either.

The Western Grebe stands about 18 tall as an adult and has a wingspan of about 3 1/2 feet. The plumage on both the male and female Western Grebe is similar. The Western Grebe has a long neck, a long olive colored bill and a red eye amid dark coloring. Their chin, throat and stomach are colored ivory. On it face, back of the neck and crown the grebe has black coloring and its back and wings are chocolate. Its feet are set back on its body because it spends so much of its life in the water. The Western Grebe is a graceful diving bird seen by bird watchers mainly in the Western United States, Central Canada, and Northern Mexico.

Western Grebes breeds in wetland near open water and in shallow ponds in the Canadian Provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan. In the United States the birds breed in Minnesota and parts of California. Some bird watchers observed the Western Grebe in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.

In the spring time the Western Grebes perform their courtship dances. They paddle vigorously across the water side by side, so fast it looks like they are running across the surface of the water. Their wings are held back, their long necks arched and their yellow bill pointed skyward. After the courtship water ritual both the male and female build a floating nest out of plant material that is attached to reeds. The Western Grebes nest near each other making the area thick with grebes and very noisy.

After mating and nest building the female Western Grebe lays from three to four bluish white stained brown or buff eggs from the late days of May through the month of July. They sit on the eggs from three to four weeks and in nine to eleven weeks the young birds fledge.

Normally the Western Grebe has one brood each year. It is not unusual for different species of Grebes to inter mix causing some hybrids in certain areas. This makes it difficult to identify the particular species so paying attention to the bird's bill color and face pattern becomes necessary especially for the difference of the Western Grebe from Clark's Grebe.

The Western Grebe's diet consists mainly of fish all year round but does eat aquatic invertebrates, insects, crustaceans, and salamanders. Grebes swim under water to catch their prey. When they surface with a fish, it is quickly consumed.