Eared Grebe

Short, rubbery poo-eechk notes repeat across the water, musical but more squeak than whinny.

Breeds across the western interior of North America from the Canadian Prairies south through the Great Basin and high plains. Winters primarily in ice-free waters of the Southwest U.S., Mexico, and the Pacific coast; also occurs in Central America and the Caribbean.

Shallow saline or alkaline lakes, marshy ponds, prairie potholes, and coastal lagoons; favors open water with emergent vegetation nearby for nesting.

• April–July: Breeding on prairie wetlands. • Late Jul–Oct: Post-breeding molt congregations on hypersaline lakes (e.g., Great Salt Lake, Mono Lake). • Oct–Mar: Winters on coastal bays, larger lakes, and inland saline waters.

The Eared Grebe is a diminutive, highly buoyant waterbird famous for its striking breeding plumage of velvety-black body, fiery red eye, and a sweeping fan of golden feathers that flare behind the ear. Outside the breeding season it transforms into a subtle gray-and-white bird that can be tricky to pick out from other grebes. It is the most abundant grebe in the world and a master of adaptation to saline lakes where it gathers in the hundreds of thousands to molt and fatten up on brine shrimp before long migratory flights.