By Sally Siko
Whenever I’m birding along the mid Atlantic coast in late winter, I always keep an eye out over the ocean for Horned Grebes.
I spotted several while on a birding tour this past weekend.
Normally, the species is somewhat difficult to photograph as they usually spend time hunting for a meal a little further out on the water where the waves break. I lucked out to be able to spot a small flock swimming close to the beach.
It was so cool to actually get to take photos that didn’t look like little black feathered dots floating between the waves lol!
Horned Grebes are a wintertime resident of the Carolinas, although they are most commonly seen throughout February and March.
They spend most of their time in our coastal counties, on the inshore Atlantic, as well as in in sounds, estuaries and lakes. Occasionally they can be spotted inland to as far west as central South & North Carolina.
The Horned Grebes breeding range is impressive, extending from Iceland to Russia and Alaska all the way to Minnesota!
During breeding season they’ve got a black head with a stripe of yellow feathers that extend from each eye to the back of their head and a reddish-brown body.
For now (non breeding season) they have a black body with a white neck and underbelly paired with bright red eyes.
A few, like the adult male also shown in this series of photos have already begun to molt into their summer plumage with the first hints of orange feathers poking through on it’s cheeks!
