No one can doubt that Lake County has one of the largest wild birds populations in the state and the base for this ideal home is Clear Lake.
One of the most popular birds on Clear Lake is the western grebe. It’s a fascinating bird that makes an annual trek to Clear Lake to nest and hatch its young. It draws hundreds of bird watchers. Observers are spellbound by their mating dance during which the male approaches the female and does a series of dips with his head. She responds with like dips and they then race across the surface of the water side by side. At the end of their run they dive in perfect unison.
Grebes also preform what is called the “weed” ceremony. This occurs after the grebes have mated and just before they start building nests. The male and female approach each other with weeds in their mouths. They face each other and do a spiral dance. They can live up to 10 years but most survive between five and seven years.
Western grebes feed mostly on minnows but they will also eat small clams and crayfish. They are the ultimate fishermen and chase down small minnows such as silversides and threadfin shad and eat them one by one like popcorn. Studies have shown that grebes capture most of their prey by stabbing them with their long and sharp beaks. Most of the time they swallow their food underwater. Scientists believe they do this because it prevents other grebes from stealing their food. However, it’s common for a grebe to surface with a minnow in its mouth and offer it to its mate or chicks.
The stomach of a western grebe is lined with downy-type feathers that are formed into a ball. It is believed that the purpose of for the feathery ball is to prevent sharp fish bones from penetrating the stomach lining.
Just about every boater and fisherman has seen baby grebe chicks riding on their mother’s back, but how they climb up there is very unusual. The mother extends her foot as a platform and the chick climb up on the foot and crawls up on her back. Mothers also have been observed diving with the chicks on their backs.
What is unusual is how the mother can identify her chick from the hundreds of other chicks in the same vicinity. Each chick makes a distinct call that only the mother recognizes. The chick also can recognize its mother’s call.
How the western grebes find their way to Clear Lake has always mystified birders. Most don’t spend the winter here but migrate here during the spring. Few people have ever seen a grebe fly except for skittering across the water, but they do fly. Scientists say that most of the time the grebes migrate at night. They are without question one of the most popular birds on the lake.
Ospreys
Another popular bird is the osprey. Osprey are unique in that they can be found throughout the world — on every continent except Antarctica. The worldwide population is estimated at more than 400,000. They are common on Clear Lake where at least a couple of dozen pairs of birds nest around the lake. They can be easily identified in flight by their white belly and long black-tipped and narrow wings. The head is mostly white with a dark brown stripe that extends from the eye. Their beak is hooked at the end, which allows them to tear a fish into small bits. Their feet have two toes pointing backward, and the bottom of their feet have short and sharp spines that help them hold onto fish. Their feathers also have an oil coating that keeps them dry when they dive into the water.
Fish make up 99 percent of the osprey’s diet. The primary fish the osprey feed on are hitch, small carp, catfish, threadfin shad and small bass. They locate their prey by flying low over the water. When they spot a fish near the surface they gain altitude and then dive with their talons outstretched. Once they grab a fish they turn it so that the head faces forward. The osprey then returns to its nest with its catch.
For years there was an osprey family nesting in a huge nest at the lagoon at Lakeside County Park. Every year the same pair of osprey would return to that nest and hatch young. A few years ago the nest was replaced by another nest on a large power pole. The osprey have returned to it every year.
Birds are an important part of our life and we need to protect them so that they are always here.
