Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Seeking Protection


I first encountered this little Pied-billed Grebe a couple of hundred yards from shore. As I approached with the boat, it quickly scooted underwater and reappeared some distance closer to shore. The Grebe continued eluding me with this maneuver numerous times; never allowing me to approach within range until it reached the shore where a flock of Canada Geese were feeding.

Apparently the Grebe was seeking safety in numbers or perhaps safety from its large friends for once it reached the geese it allowed me to approach well within photographic range. After the geese had flushed I looked around for the Grebe and soon it bobbed to the surface quite some distance out in the lake. The Grebe was obviously deferring to the geese’s judgment as to what was or was not safe.

4 comments:

Stacey Olson said...

LOL adorable. It REALLY looks small with the goose in the background.. Looks like you really had fun!

photowannabe said...

He really does look like he is seeking protection from the goose.
Great shot.

Tom said...

Great picture, well captured. I found the 'Safety In Numbers' very interesting.. I see this many times with birds, if a hawk is about flocks of birds appear...

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Salty: What a cute little Grebe. The little guy didn't want you bothering him.