Grebes and Friends Sq

Western and Clark’s Grebes court, nest, and raise their families among the reeds in shallow waters near Chico, California. From our kayaks, we observed them without disturbing their fascinating behavior. On Black Butte Lake they crossed beaks, mirrored each other’s postures, performed their weed dance, bowed low, and then rose up and rushed across the water together. This year we found them nesting along the shore of a lake once again. By some miracle of timing, we saw a chick hatch and, within minutes, climb blindly up its mom’s back to be covered gently by her wing feathers.