Pied-billed Grebe

Yesterday morning was not nice weather-wise but I decided to go out with my camera despite the ugly conditions and try to get a photo of a pied-billed grebe. This grebe has been hanging out here for the past week and unlike most waterfowl who fly away before I can get close enough for a photo this duck stays put while I walk my dogs around the marsh. Pied-billed grebes are very small so even though they don't fly off it's still very hard to get close enough for a good photo, even with a super telephoto lens. With a diving duck such as this I try to creep closer when they dive for food. You can never be sure where they will pop up but I got lucky and this one surfaced in front of me fairly close to where I was standing. In this photo you can see the large chunky bill of the grebe. With this stout bill this diminutive duck is capable of crushing and eating crustaceans and fish.

Pied-billed Grebe

I'm fairly certain this is a male pied-billed and I'm hoping he is trying to attract a female to our marsh. Although our marsh is small it does have areas of open water and cover that this duck prefers. I also live in the area that is considered to be the best in Ohio for nesting pied-billed grebes. One can only hope!

To listen to the amazing call of the pied-billed grebe click on the link below and then check out the recording for the wailing sound.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/sounds

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