Nesting Pied-billed Grebes

An immature Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) floats on the quiet waters of Howard Marsh, along Lake Erie not far east of Toledo, Ohio.

I visited the newly opened Howard Marsh West back on August 18, and shared some bird images made there in THIS POST. One species that was very conspicuous but did not use photos of in the above-cited post was Pied-billed Grebe. The little divers were everywhere, and several family units were present. I've always been smitten with grebes and tried to take photos when they would come into range.

A juvenile grebe, similar to the one pictured above, takes a test flight. the legs are set far back on the body, the better for diving, but that positioning requires much effort to get aloft. This one ran/skimmed/semi-flew across the water's surface for perhaps a football field's length before settling back in. Apparently just getting a feel for things and checking out the gear for the southward migration to come. Pied-billed Grebes are nocturnal migrants, so it would be unusual to catch one in true flight during daylight hours.

An adult grebe with black bib and hash mark on the bill, with a very young juvenile bird.

The Pied-billed Grebes added significantly to the Howard Marsh soundscape, with adults occasionally delivering their surprisingly loud jungle-like whooping, and the softer but still conspicuous chicken-like peeping of the still stripe-headed juveniles that depend upon their parents to provide food.

An adult grebe steams across the marsh with a freshly caught fish. Destination: a group of loudly peeping youngsters. There seemed to be at least three family units present in the marsh, and the younger chicks peeped nearly nonstop, constantly exhorting their hard-working parents to bring them fish, and MORE fish!

A trio of chicks accompanies this hard-working, probably sleepless adult, putting up a cacophony of peeps the whole time.

Adults fashion a rather crude floating platform of plants matter such as bulrushes, sedges and cattails, and the female lays about a half-dozen eggs atop that. Chicks - and adults - face many predators, including birds of prey, gulls, Raccoons, Snapping Turtles, Mink and others. Nonetheless, a fair number of striped juveniles had made it this far, and hopefully many of them will get to the point that they can take flight and move south when the time comes.

Casting eyes on this new section of Howard Marsh, it's hard to believe that not long ago it was all agricultural land. Prior to conversion for farming, it was wetland, and this project is a true wetland restoration - not creation. The avian response to wetland restoration can be astonishingly fast and this case is stark proof of that. And it will only get better in coming years. Kudos to Metroparks Toledo for their fine work.

Howard Marsh birds

As the name of this blog has "birds" in it, it's high time that I posted a few. So, some birds follow, but first a brief intro.

On August 18, I made a long overdue trip to the marshes of western Lake Erie, just east of Toledo, Ohio. The primary target was Howard Marsh Metropark, a superb example of a restored wetland owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo. Metroparks acquired the 1,000-acre property in 2008, and a few years later opened the original wetland component on the east side of Howard Road. The avian response was instant and spectacular.

Then, just this year, phase II on the west side of Howard Road opened. Again, the birds, both migrants and breeders, took to the site with a vengeance. Build it and they will come, especially if a wetland restoration on a site that used to be wetlands.

One could make the case that various regional and county metroparks systems are now at the forefront of conservation on the state level. Funded by levies and usually overwhelmingly supported by the public, park districts such as Metroparks Toledo are doing lots of great things. Their management practices and goals are progressive, and their staff tend to be ecologically literate and in tune to conservation of biodiversity, both flora and fauna. Howard Marsh is a shining example, and well worth a visit.

The noisy gakkering of the world's largest tern, the Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) greeted me upon arrival. A noisy mob was roosting on a mudflat, including many juveniles.

An incoming tern drops a fish. It deftly re-snagged it midair a moment later. This parent was heading towards the shoal with its complement of loudly begging juveniles. Young Caspian Terns follow their parents around for months, depending on them for food. Apparently, the learning curve of aerial fishing is steep and takes time to master.

A hen Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) shows off her namesake patch. Many Blue-winged Teal were congregated here. Some of them probably bred locally. This is the least hardy of our fowl: early to migrate south, late to return in spring, and almost unheard of in winter. Most blue-wings winter south of the U.S., with some venturing all the way to South America.

A Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) teeters around Howard Marsh. It was one of about a half-dozen that I saw. This fantastical shorebird with bubblegum-pink legs is now a regular sight in Ohio. Stilts are conspicuous extroverts and call more attention to themselves with loud, grating calls. By 1900, unchecked market hunting had greatly reduced their numbers, but over a century later, stilts have increased greatly. Their comeback includes recolonizing former ranges such as the western Lake Erie marshes, where they now nest sparingly, such as at Howard Marsh.

Lots of shorebird species were present at Howard Marsh, and as usual in late summer the yellowlegs were common and conspicuous. Lesser Yellowlegs (photo below) outnumbered Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca, above photo) by a good margin, also to be expected. These are adult birds. The juveniles migrate later and will start to appear by August's end. Shorebirds are one of the marvels of bird migration. Many of our sandpiper and plover species breed in Arctic or near-Arctic regions and make incredible migrations thousands of miles southward to wintering grounds, a few species traveling nearly to the southern tip of the globe. And the juveniles do this without parental guidance, utilizing a pre-programmed built-in GPS system.

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

A juvenile Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) forages in Howard Marsh. All three phalarope species are rarities in Ohio and always a treat to see. The other two, Red-necked and Red phalaropes, breed in the far north, well into Polar Bear country. Wilson's Phalarope nests primarily in the prairie pothole region of the western U.S. and adjacent Canada. It's a rare nester in the western marshes of Lake Erie, and perhaps that's where this one was spawned. Phalaropes often swim like little ducks, rapidly spinning in circles. This creates a vortex that pulls prey to the surface.

I look forward to more trips to Howard Marsh, and highly encourage a visit.