The numbers of eared grebes that I've seen from my home on Eld Inlet (west
of Olympia) recently certainly support the idea that this is "a grebier
year." Most winters I'll see one or two with some regularity (maybe 50% of
the time if I really search with the scope). This year I'll almost always
see one or more whenever I check closely. A couple of weeks ago there was
a group of eight, and today I counted 15 (yes, fifteen) close together, and
they were clearly eared, not horned. Sometimes I've seen small groups of
perhaps four or five during migration, but absolutely nothing like this in
winter.

If there are increases in the numbers of horned, western, or red-necked
grebes, it's not apparent to me.

Betty Estes
Olympia
brestes at worldnet.att.net