Piggy-backing Baby - Great Crested Grebes.by Alwyn Simple
I went out early yesterday morning to photograph the Great Crested Grebes at Walker Water Works near Maitland hoping for a shot of the parent birds carrying their chicks. Sadly everything was wrong for photography , it was heavily overcast, the wind came up causing ripples on the water and the light was poor. Normally I would not post this photo as I am not happy with the quality but for cuteness it is what I went for. Anyhow I hope that you enjoy the cuteness of this shot.
Sometimes the conditions just conspire against us Alwyn but I always say – it’s good to be out observing nature no matter the conditions – and yes this has the cute factor in spades!!
Thanks Barbie and yes you are right, it is better to be out there than inside. Thanks for you wonderful comment. Made me realise I am lucky.
Is this common practice? The few times i have seen them at Oatlands the chicks have all been more advanced, darn another season before i can try again :-) Lovely to know and to see . Are they common in your area, here they are quite infrequent visitors ,first in a few years this year.
Hi Ron, Yes it is common to carry their babies on their back and one bird will carry up to 4 at a time when they are very small. I guess it is like a hen sitting on her chicks to protect them. Both parents carry chicks. I have even seen them dive with the chicks on their back. Often when they are small you don’t always see the chicks on their back but you can tell because when the feathers are standing up on their back it is mostly to hide the chicks. We have around six to 10 breeding pair every year at the Walka Water works at Maitland in NSW. This is the first time I have been there this season. The weather has not been good this year for photography. All the best.
Very cute Alwyn. Beautiful looking birds. Is the young one on Mums back or swimming next to Mum? Even so a very lovely family photo!! Anita
Hi Anita. Yes they ride on both their parents backs when they are small. This is how they protect them. If it were a chook, they would be protected by hiding below their mother in the feathers. Because these birds never leave the water except to sit on eggs, they protect their chicks by hiding them in their feathers on their back. This chick is on its parents back. Thanks for your comments Mate.
Thanks Alwyn. Amazing to think they never leave the water except to nest! How many young would they have in a clutch? Can’t be easy looking after many of these babies… Anita
Hi Mate, been away so a bit late replying. I have regularly seen 4 babies in a clutch with one set of parents and I have seen 4 eggs in a nest so four babies is common. They build their nest in the reeds above the water level so they do not go on to land at all. I might have been a bit misleading in my last statement and I would like to clarify that. Their legs are out sideways when they are swimming. I do not think that they could walk on land like a normal bird. They are also strong swimmers under water and I have seen them dive with babies on their back and resurface with the babies still on their back.
Comments
Natures Paintbrush
BEAUTIFUL work
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Many thanks Ann.
– Alwyn Simple
Sometimes the conditions just conspire against us Alwyn but I always say – it’s good to be out observing nature no matter the conditions – and yes this has the cute factor in spades!!
Thanks Barbie and yes you are right, it is better to be out there than inside. Thanks for you wonderful comment. Made me realise I am lucky.
– Alwyn Simple
Is this common practice? The few times i have seen them at Oatlands the chicks have all been more advanced, darn another season before i can try again :-)
Lovely to know and to see .
Are they common in your area, here they are quite infrequent visitors ,first in a few years this year.
Hi Ron, Yes it is common to carry their babies on their back and one bird will carry up to 4 at a time when they are very small. I guess it is like a hen sitting on her chicks to protect them. Both parents carry chicks. I have even seen them dive with the chicks on their back. Often when they are small you don’t always see the chicks on their back but you can tell because when the feathers are standing up on their back it is mostly to hide the chicks.
We have around six to 10 breeding pair every year at the Walka Water works at Maitland in NSW. This is the first time I have been there this season. The weather has not been good this year for photography. All the best.
– Alwyn Simple
beautiful capture
Many thanks Gary.
– Alwyn Simple
Great shot, this is really cute,. I’m glad that you posted it! :))
Many thanks Meladana for your wonderful comment, I am glad that you like it.
– Alwyn Simple
Great capture!
Many thanks DeeZ. Many thanks again for the feature the ended up on the homepage.
– Alwyn Simple
Very cute Alwyn. Beautiful looking birds. Is the young one on Mums back or swimming next to Mum? Even so a very lovely family photo!! Anita
Hi Anita. Yes they ride on both their parents backs when they are small. This is how they protect them. If it were a chook, they would be protected by hiding below their mother in the feathers. Because these birds never leave the water except to sit on eggs, they protect their chicks by hiding them in their feathers on their back. This chick is on its parents back. Thanks for your comments Mate.
– Alwyn Simple
Many thanks Ray
– Alwyn Simple
Thanks Alwyn. Amazing to think they never leave the water except to nest! How many young would they have in a clutch? Can’t be easy looking after many of these babies… Anita
Hi Mate, been away so a bit late replying. I have regularly seen 4 babies in a clutch with one set of parents and I have seen 4 eggs in a nest so four babies is common. They build their nest in the reeds above the water level so they do not go on to land at all. I might have been a bit misleading in my last statement and I would like to clarify that. Their legs are out sideways when they are swimming. I do not think that they could walk on land like a normal bird.
They are also strong swimmers under water and I have seen them dive with babies on their back and resurface with the babies still on their back.
– Alwyn Simple
February 1, 2012
Many thanks Teresa for this feature award, it is very much appreciated.
– Alwyn Simple