Possible Eared Grebe floating nest colony being formed near Wood River Wetland.

[Marshal Moser]

It appears more than a dozen Eared Grebes may be staging again in preparation to form a nesting colony near Wood River Wetland.  Joe Spendolini was able to get drone photos of nests with eggs in the same location in late August of 2020. The location is offshore several hundred yards to the WNW of the Oregon Shores 1 park/marina about 1 mile south of Wood River Wetland on the west side of Modoc Pt. Rd. 

The grebes can be seen best in the heat of mid-afternoon in the shallow water and a large mass of floating aquatic vegetation in the direction of the southern tip of the Wood River delta from the park/marina. 2 years ago they succeeded in making their floating nests by bunching up small mounds of vegetation on which each pair would nest in late August, one of the latest of the nesting birds in our area. Last year it appeared the nesting may have failed. They are nomadic colonial nesters and I am reporting this a little earlier in order for people to see the colony develop if they do continue through to egg laying and hatching.

They are difficult to see because of their size and the distance. A spotting scope is best. It is possible to set it up in the entrance to the park, but please do not block the drive.

Hoping this helps people take in this not so commonly seen behavior. Marshal

[Howard West]

Marshal,

Thanks for this very interesting report.

 I am surprised that any of the grebe species would just now be starting to build nests.

Drones should be one of the best ways to document the nest sites of all the grebes in the area. This is assuming their max. range will allow them to get where they are known or suspected to nest.

It would be great if ANYONE could tell us where The Clark's and Western grebs normal nesting sites are. I have heard that Shoalwater Bay is the main nesting site on Klamath Lake. 

Howard West

 

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Group "Klamath Basin Bird News".
To post to this group, send email to
klamathbas...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
klamathbasinbird...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/klamathbasinbirdnews
For more information, including posting guidelines, visit the Group's web page at:
https://sites.google.com/site/klamathbasinbirdnews/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Klamath Basin Bird News" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to klamathbasinbird...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/klamathbasinbirdnews/30191b3a-eec6-44b0-a850-99a9448b7630n%40googlegroups.com.