Pic of the Day

Clark's Grebe, Aechmophorus clarkii:  Bear River Bird Sanctuary near Brigham, Utah     

     On the morning I arrived at Bear River I found the refuge enshrouded with a light fog and a thin layer of clouds that diffused the morning light.  The water, clouds, and fog gave the overall scene a wash of gray.  Starting in photography more than 45 years ago shooting black and white, the monotone scene was so appealing I could not pass it up. 

     Bear River is known for its abundant population of Western and Clark’s Grebes, and they were everywhere the morning I arrived.  This bird, and most of the other grebes were floating on the lake sleeping with their heads tucked under a wing.  As I shot the serene, gray scene before me, this grebe burst into action.  As it rose from the water I began shooting images in rapid succession and captured its flapping and wing stretching frenzy.  Within a few seconds the action was over, but I was left with this prize of a foggy Bear River morning.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/1000 second @ f/8

Pic of the Day

     The Clark's and Western Grebes were long thought to be of the same species.  The Clark’s Grebe was first described to science in 1858, but was considered as a variant of the western Grebe.  It was not until 1985 that the two species were split and the Clark’s gained its own species status.

Clark's Grebe, Aechmophorus clarkii:  Bear River Bird Sanctuary; Brigham, Utah

    Though they both perform the same style of courtship display and occupy the same habitat, the differences in facial patterns keeps the two species from interbreeding.  The black cap of the Western Grebe extends to the eye, or below the eye while the Clark’s has a distinct white margin between the eye and black cap.  I have also noticed, and this is easily recognized at a distance, that the Clark’s flankes seem to be lighter than those of the Western Grebe.   This makes identification of the two species quite easy from afar.

    Other identifying features are the bill color and the voice.  The Clark’s bill is a bright yellow-orange, while the Western's shows a yellow bill with an olive tinge.  The voices of the two species are quite different as well.  The Clark’s voice is a single syllable “kreeek,” and the Western a distinct two syllable “Kree-eeek.”

Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis: Bear River Bird Sanctuary; Brigham, Utah
Note: that the two Western Grebes shown here shown different facial patterns.  The 
 foreground bird shows the black cap extenuating to the top of the eye while the bird in 
the background show the black cap extending below the eye.

     The Clark’s Grebe is named in honor of John Henry Clark.  Clark was a 19^th century American surveyor who was a naturalist and a collector.  The genus name Aechmophorus comes from the Ancient Greek word “aichme”, meaning spear, referencing the grebes long dagger like beak.

Hear the call of the Clark’s Grebe:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Clarks_Grebe/sounds

Hear the call of the Western Grebe:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Grebe/sounds

References:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark's_grebe

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/clarks-grebe

Top:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/200 second @ f/6.3

Bottom:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/400 second @ f/10

Pic of the Day

Clark's Grebe, Aechmophorus clarkii:

Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area; Farmington, Utah

     The Clark's Grebe was named in honor of John Henry Clark, a 19th century American surveyor and naturalist.  Until the 1980’s the Clark’s Grebe was thought to be a pale morph of the Western Grebe, which it closely resembles (see western grebe here).  I shot this Clark’s Grebe at the Farmington WMA on the east shore of the Great Salt Lake, Utah. 

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/640 @ f7.1

Pic of the Day

     Clark's Grebe and Western Grebe -- Bear River NWR:  After the Bear River NWR was close I headed north to the Tetons and Yellowstone.  The Tetons were nice, but Yellowstone (like the Tetons) were having a late spring.  I was here a year ago and Yellowstone was green and filled with birds.  Not this year, Winter is holding on! After a day in the Teton's I got a call from the Refuge Manager at Bear River, he told me he was opening the refuge on Friday.  On Thursday evening I headed back to Bear River.
This morning I shot these two image of the Clark's and Western grebes.  Both of the birds are lifer's for me.  The first lifer I've had since the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in February 2004.
     I love the Bear River NWR, the shooting is great!  If you have never been to this refuge, you should.  Plan to be here in early to mid June.  The birds are nesting and the refuge is hopping!  Check back soon for more updates.

Look at the images closely.  Can you tell which is the Clarks and which is the Western?

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4