Oh, tweets, a wondrous thing today at the Fill. I saw a pied-billed
grebe's egg! I was sitting on my camp stool at the point, gazing back
at the logs that line the north end of Union Bay, in hopes that rails
would come out and do a line dance on the logs. No rails, but I
happened to glance over at the pied-billed grebe's nest among the lily
pads. These two grebes have been nest-building for about a week now. I
think its the same two that tried building a nest farther out on the
bay. That nest has been abandoned, I think, although it's hard to see
for sure because the water lilies have grown up around it. This nest is
only 30 feet or so away from the shore, and it seems to be built on a
half-submerged log. One of the parent grebes was scooching around on
the nest, and I focused in on it with my binocs. I wanted to see its
feet. You don't often get a chance to see a grebe's feet out of water.
The grebe was turning round and round, and then, peeking out between
its legs, there was its egg! I caught only a momentary view because the
grebe flopped down onto the nest, covering the egg. Meanwhile, its mate
brought a piece of plant to build up the nest a little more. Both
parents seem quite solicitous of the egg. It will be fun to watch them
as incubation proceeds. - Connie, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com