Today our suspicions were finally confirmed. We have a breeding pair of Pied Billed Grebes breeding, and raising young on our pond. We saw the female, today, teaching her brood of three, how to dive and feed themselves. She is still actively feeding them when they can't get enough on their own and first time out of the nest. We were hoping this would happen when the male spent most of the winter on our pond calling for a mate. My husband was able to stand in front of our sliding glass door and have the male actively feed from December through late April. We have heard them on the large pond above ours over the year's and saw them in our pond occasionally during the non-breeding season. But to have them breed on our pond means that the food source in our pond has finally matured to a sustainable and breeding population of their own. I think that this will be a fantastic birding season for us.


Demarie Wood
Port Angeles, WA
maknatiathotmail.com


"Things are never so bad but they could be worse."
Grandfather winter 1904
Working as a Teacher for Dr. Sheldon Jackson
Ikogmute (Russian Mission), AK