Pied-billed Grebe

Gallery: AvianPosted August 22, 2010141 views14 comments

Podilymbus podiceps

This was taken last winter, I was looking at it earlier because we have not been seeing Pied-billed Grebes for awhile and I quite miss thier funny behaviors, the saucy way they chase after each other and the interesting poses they can assume.

This was taken at a local pond near where I live. The golden reflections in the water are from the Phragmites along the shoreline.

D200, f8, ISO 250, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm. ) ev comp, aperture priority, natural light, 51% of the original frame. I am fairly certain I was using my tripod low to the ground and freezing my tush off. Larger version provided because they show the sharpness and details better than the 720 pixel versions.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your comments & critiques. Thank you for looking.

Side note Ron Dudley and I have noticed Pied-billed Grebes fluttering their wings (as this one was) in rapid movements, just barely lifted though. They often do this for over 5 minutes at a time. I'd be interested if any one knows what that behavior is about.

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on August 22, 2010 at 9:08 PM

The wing flutter might be a way to warm up the wing muscles, or maybe even the entire body. It would seem appropriate with the cold temps you mention.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Hali Sowle on August 22, 2010 at 9:49 PM

Great detail in this and really nice warm color throughout the image, I really like that gold reflection in the water complementing the browns of the bird. I'm not fond of the back end view but the angle of the head is really nice.

Registered on January 9, 2008, 36 Posts, 582 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on August 22, 2010 at 11:09 PM

Interesting 'looking behind' pose. Nice reflection and ripples in the water.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 22, 2010 at 11:52 PM

Beautiful, Mia. Great dof to be able to get it all in focus at that angle.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on August 23, 2010 at 12:16 AM

Very pleasing palate, Mia.
The head turn really makes this "moving away" pose work well.
Nicely Done (as usual)

Neil

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on August 23, 2010 at 12:48 AM

The low angle makes this, along with the beautiful harmonious colors. I'm with Richard on the behavior, fluffing to shed some water, get a little air into the feathers for insulation and generating a little heat in the process.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on August 23, 2010 at 10:04 AM

I think the head turn is key to this shot, Mia. If the Grebe was looking almost anywhere else it would not have near the impact. Great reflections. Fine detail and lighting.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on August 23, 2010 at 5:18 PM

Mia, I like how you cropped to a typical rule of thirds framing of this, and the overall color palette of the BG matching the bird. These little guys are really cute aren't they. Nicely done.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on August 23, 2010 at 5:47 PM

Love the colors in this one Mia. I personally like the rear view and the nice head turn. We see so many front views that rear views are a nice change up. Great sharpness and detail as always.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on August 23, 2010 at 9:41 PM

Excellent photo, Mia. Can't offer much that hasn't been said already.

The behavior: could be either warming behavior as Richard suggests, or, if a part of a preening session, the wing-shuffling they use to spread secreted oil over the inside of the wings. According to BNA, the warming behaior is very rapid 6-10/second; the preening is slower, 1/second.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 24, 2010 at 12:37 AM

Nice golden colors and head turn for this grebe Mia

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on August 24, 2010 at 6:51 AM

Nice detail and head turn Mia. i also like the subtle shades of colour.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on August 24, 2010 at 12:27 PM

Lovely shot Mia. It really pops in the large version.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on August 26, 2010 at 11:36 AM

I love the colors here Mia and especially appreciate the pose because it's one that we so often see with them but is difficult to photograph well, which you certainly have done. Perfect exposure to get detail in both the tail whites and dark back. Very well presented.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments