Monday, July 14, 2008

The Splashy Dance: Courting Grebes

Monday, July 14, 2008
5 comments

Even more exciting than seeing so many Clark's grebes in one place was getting to se a pair of western grebes doing the Splashy Dance. This is the courtship dance these large grebes perform in the spring and early summer. After a bit of synchronized head bobbing and bill dipping and mock preening, a male and female will lift their bodies off the water and scamper across the surface, beating their wings just enough to propel them forward.








This incredible display only lasts a few seconds, but the pair may repeat it several times in a hour. We saw it happen three different times with this one pair of western grebes. This was a life-behavior for me and something I'd always wanted to observe. I only wish I'd had my video camera handy.

5 comments:

On July 14, 2008 at 12:38 PM Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Very Disney-esque!
What music would you put to the video?

On July 14, 2008 at 4:14 PM Jayne said...

So cool to witness that!

On July 14, 2008 at 6:35 PM Beverly said...

Gee... wouldn't that most certainly be "Dance of the Reed Flutes" (from The Nutcracker Suite Op.71A)?

or maybe it's not fast enough, huh? LOL Loved the question!

Beverly

On July 14, 2008 at 7:53 PM NCmountainwoman said...

Oh, how cool is that? Great pictures.

On July 15, 2008 at 4:03 PM dguzman said...

I like the way the bystanders are trying to nervously avert their eyes from this private moment.


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