On Fri, 8 Aug 1997, Judith G. Noble wrote:

> in a recent Harpers magazine article the author suggested that grebes
> can't walk on land and that those westerns found stranded above high tide
> are really just in need of a lift back to the water where they can get a
> running start at flight. Since I have occasionally seen these birds and
> passed sadly by, assuming they were sick, I would like to know if the
> author is more right than wrong. Thanks
>
> Judith Noble
> bc468 at scn.org

In December 1995, I was walking along Bayocean Spit near Tillamook when I
found a pair of grebes on the beach. One bird was in a bit of a
depression and could not get up. The other bird, apparently (and perhaps
anthropomorhically) its mate, was sitting beside it when I came up. The
bird in the small depression had apparently been somewhat beat up by the
recent storm (it was about 4 days after that huge storm) and really could
not get up, but the mate could move around, running in a way that looked
very strange (the image that come to mind is CLyde the Orangutan fromteh
CLint Eastwood Any Which Way but Loose movie). I picked up the stranded
bird, and the other bird ran in front of me, and both met again back in
the surf where they were able to get beyond the heavy surf after a few
minutes.

SO the one bird was too exhausted to get up, and the other could get
around, and could have gotten back to the water at any time. It just
instead sat with its friend.

Ray K

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Korpi "In sports [today], we ignore the decent and the
Hm: Portland, OR admirable; basically, we don't have time for these
Wk: Clark College any more." --Frank DeFord, NPR, 7/16/97
Vancouver, WA
rkorpi at clark.edu "Just in sports?" --RK, 7/16/97