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 for wild birds 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 produce its young in front of hundreds of bird watchers. Observers are spellbound by the grebe’s 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 paired up just before the they start building nests. The male and female approach each other with weeds in their mouths and perform a spiral dance while facing each other. Grebes can live up to 10 years although most live from five to seven years.
Western grebes feed mostly on minnows although they will also eat small clams and crayfish. They are the ultimate fishermen and chase down small minnows such as silversides and threadfin shad, picking them off one by one like a human eating 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 grebes to surface with minnow in their mouths as they offer the food to their 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 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 climbs up and crawls onto 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 will make a call that is particular only to that chick and the mother recognizes it. The chick also can recognize its mother’s call.
How the western grebes find their way to Clear Lake has always been a mystery. Most grebes don’t spend the winter here but instead migrate here during the spring. Few people have ever seen a grebe fly except for skittering across the water, but they do fly. Scientists grebes migrate at night most of the time. They are without question one of the most popular birds on the lake.
Osprey
Another popular bird at Clear Lake is the osprey. Osprey can be found throughout the world, on every continent except Antarctica. The worldwide population is estimated at more than 400,000 birds. They are common on Clear Lake with several dozen pairs living around the lake.
Osprey are easily identified in flight by their white belly and long black-tipped 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 talons have two toes pointing backward. The bottom of their talons have short and sharp spines that help them hold onto fish. Osprey feathers also have an oil coating that keeps theem dry when they dive into the water.
Fish make up 99 percent of the osprey’s diet, primarily hitch, small carp and 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 climb and then dive with their talons outstretched. Once they grab a fish they turn it so the head of the fish faces forward. The osprey then returns to its nest with its catch.
For years there was an osprey family at Lakeside County Park in a huge nest located at the lagoon. Every year the same pair of osprey would return to that nest and hatch young. A few years ago that nest was replaced by a nest on a large power pole. The osprey have returned to it every year.
Birds are an important part of our life and we want to protect them so they will always be here.
