Subject: RE: Pied-billed Grebe breeding
Date: Sep 13 19:51:04 1997
From: "Martin Muller" - MartinMuller at classic.msn.com


Michael,

(My apologies if this is a repeat message, had some server trouble, don't know
if it went through the first time...)

Got your message with the Pied-bill observations at Marymoore. Neat!

The normal range for eggs is 3-6 (10 extreme). I've seen as many as eight on
Green Lake. Not all eggs hatch all the time. Seven is the highest number of
hatchlings I've seen on Green Lake.

As far as late date, there are several new broods on Green Lake at the moment.
Three of them from second clutches by the same pair, one (presumably) first
clutch.
One pair hatched seven of eight eggs, four young are still alive. Two had six
eggs and one has three young, the other two. The one with two, also has two
from the first clutch still hanging around. The last pair had six eggs and
five young are still alive.

In years past I've seen eggs hatch as late as the first week of October (again
on Green Lake) and three of the four young actually made it to independence
(presumably 35 days after mid-hatch). They disappeared from the lake when they
were 40-some days old. I assume they left together with all the other grebes
that left the lake at about that time.

In short, what you're seeing is consistent with Green Lake observations. I
haven't researched the laying dates throughout the Pied-bill's range yet, so I
can't tell you if what we're seeing is totally off the charts compared to
other localities.

Thanks for sharing your observations.
I hope this answers your questions.
Always glad to discuss these guys.
Sincerely,
Martin Muller
martinmuller at msn.com