Mike Powell

Although I have photographed a Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) several times in the past, I had never seen one in colorful breeding plumage until yesterday. According to the range maps on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, Horned Grebes do not breed in my area, so this one, who was swimming by himself, may just be passing through as he migrates northward.

The colors and patterns on this bird are amazing. The gold circles in the grebe’s red eyes really grab a viewer’s attention, though I must admit that I find them to be a little bit creepy—it is definitely worthwhile to click on the photos to get a closer look at those eyes. The bird’s distinctive “horns” appear to be tufts of long golden feathers behind each eye in a pattern that is reminiscent of the haircut of a medieval monk, particularly in the middle photo. My favorite photo may well be the final one that captures some of the grebe’s spunky personality.

Like most other grebes, Horned Grebes have compact bodies, relatively short necks, blocky heads and straight, narrow bill that is very different from a duck’s bill. I observed the grebe as it repeatedly made short dives in search of food yesterday in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, during the breeding period Horned Grebes also feed heavily on insects and larvae, some caught in the air, others in or on the water.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I captured this image of what I an pretty sure is a Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus). The subject was significantly backlit and is a bit dark, but even the most casual view will note that the bird has no horns. Well, only breeding adults have golden head tufts that someone decided look like horns.

Horned Grebes are diving ducks and most of the time that I see one it is in deep water in the distance. I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time when this grebe surfaced closer than normally with a small fish in its mouth. I posted this photo to a Facebook forum, but so far the identity of the fish remains a mystery. The best response I received when I asked if anyone knew what kind of fish it was— “a slow one.”

In any case, I really like how the warm orange of the skinny little fish contrasts with the overall bluish tones of the image. Needless to say, the fish was gone a few seconds later.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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This Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) that I spotted on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge has incredible red eyes with a golden ring around the pupil. The beautiful details in the natural world never cease to amaze me, which is why I tend to do most of my shooting with either a telephoto zoom lens or with a macro lens.

When I first spotted this bird, it was swimming in the same direction that I was walking as I followed a path parallel to the water. The grebe would swim a little and then look in my direction for a split second and dive. I would hurry along the path to try to find another opening in the vegetation to reacquire the grebe when it resurfaced. I kept thinking that the bird would swim out into the deeper water away from me, but instead it stayed a consistent distance from the shore and we played our little game for quite a while until the trail turned inland and I lost sight of the little grebe.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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