Post Dive Pied-Billed Grebe Shakeoff

I was fortunate enough at Bosque to see quite a few of these odd fairly small birds: the Pied-Billed Grebe ( http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Pied-billed_Grebe.html ) . Here one is shaking off some water after emerging from a dive in late morning light. Here's a couple of fun facts courtesy of Cornell (linked above):

The Pied-billed Grebe is rarely seen in flight. It prefers to escape predators by diving, and it migrates at night. However, it can fly, and stray individuals have reached Hawaii and Europe.

The downy chicks can leave the nest soon after hatching, but they do not swim well at first and do not spend much time in the water in the first week. They sleep on the back of a parent, held close beneath its wings. By the age of four weeks, the young grebes are spending day and night on the water. For the first ten days their response to danger is to climb onto a parent's back. After that, when danger threatens, they dive under water.

Pied Billed GrebeBirdOrnithologyGrebeBirdingNew MexicoBosque del ApacheBosqueNatureAnimalNikonD70sWetSatinGoldPodilymbus podicepsPODICIPEDIFORMESPODICIPEDIDAWild BirdBestNatureTNC06WaterfowlWildlifeBirdsAvesBird PhotoNM2006AveAvianMichael Menefee