Palouse Audubon Society The Prairie Owl VOLUME 42 ISSUE 2 October-November 2013 EVENT CALENDAR October 16 Program Know Your Grebes by Tim Hillebrand October 1 Board Meeting Highlights of a 25 year eco- October 12 Field Trip October 16 Program Meet- logical study in the semiarid ing: Highlights of Chilean Eco- zone north-central Chile logical Study November 5 Board Meeting Dr Peter Meserve November 20 Program Meet- ing: Birding the Lower Rio is Professor Emeri- Grande Valley tus in biology at December 3 Board Meeting Northern Illinois Pullman-Moscow CBC, TBA University, and an Lewiston-Clarkston CBC, TBA Adjunct Professor Kendrick-Juliaetta CBC, TBA at the University of Idaho. His first NO DECEMBER PROGRAM Western Grebes Skating on Water MEETING position in the U.S. was at the Univer- sity of Idaho during To know the Grebes, you must become 1975-1976; thereafter he taught at NIU acquainted with Clark’s Grebe, Eared PALOUSE AUDUBON for 35 years before returning to Moscow Grebe, Horned Grebe, Last Grebe, Pied- President: Ron Force, ron- to retire. Since 1989, he has been in- billed Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, and [email protected], 208-874-3207 volved in a long-term study of the role Western Grebe. All these birds share Vice President: Marie Dym- many traits in common such as giving koski, [email protected], of predator-prey and plant-herbivore (509)595-1650 interactions in the northern semiarid their babies rides on their backs, elabo- Secretary: Diane Weber, 509- scrub zone of north-central Chile. Now rate courtship behavior, eating their own 334-3817, cat- in its 26th year, it is one of the longest feathers, and lobed feet instead of [email protected] webbed feet like ducks. They are mag- Treasurer: Lavon Frazier, 509- running ecological studies in the South- 595-1913, ern Hemisphere. Dr. Meserve will talk nificent divers. [email protected] about some of its important findings as It has been a debate among ornitholo- Board Members: gists whether Loons and Grebes should Tim Hillebrand, 208-310-1341, well as some of the organisms he works [email protected]; Jim Storms, with in his talk. be placed in the same family because of 509-635-1272, The meeting will be in the Fiske the many traits they share such as lobed [email protected]; Marie feet placed so far back on their bodies so Dymkoski, 509-595-1650, Marie- Room at the 1912 Center, 3rd and Ad- [email protected]; Becky ams, Moscow at 7:30 PM. they cannot walk on land very well. But Phillips, [email protected], finally taxonomists have separated these 509-339-6277; Paul Schroeder, two groups and determined that the 509-334-2470, schroe- [email protected] similarities are a case of convergent evo- Membership: Ron Force, 208- lution with similar responses to similar 874-3207, [email protected] Newsletter: Tim Hillebrand, 805- 518-9612, [email protected] Publicity: Diane Weber, 509-334 -3817, [email protected] Conservation Committee: Mike Costa, 509-332-1793 ma- [email protected] Field Trips: Vacant VOLUME 42 ISSUE 2 THE PRAIRIE OWL PAGE 2 Grebes Continued straight greenish yellow bill. Clark’s babies are white and Western’s are gray. From the Prez Speaking of babies, be on the lookout for the young of both spe- I'm sorry to report cies hitching a ride on their par- that over the sum- ents’ backs. Most all Grebes offer mer, we lost our this service to their young. friend and colleague, Both species put on a regal Tom Weber. Tom courtship dance which can involve wore many hats at Palouse Audu- rhythmically bobbing heads and bon-- President, Webmaster, Con- Eared Grebe necks forming a heart shape, servation Chair, newsletter editor, sword fighting beak thrusts, and environmental pressures. As it and Christmas Bird Count racing on the water like motor- turns out, Grebes are very closely organizer and compiler. He was boats with necks and heads in an related to Flamingos and share also a prolific woodworker, and arched posture. In fact, all the constructed Bluebird houses and eleven features not found in other Grebes seem to display a similar our Ferruginous Hawk nesting plat- birds. mating behavior. form. We're finding that it takes The Western Grebe is common many heads to fill the hats he in our area. It’s also the largest left behind. Grebe measuring about 30 inches . long, weighing 4.4 pounds with a The Board has been working on an wing span of up to 40 inches. Red overhaul and re-design of our eyes embedded in a black head and Website, which should be up by neck are distinctive. Western the time you read this. It's fitting Grebes can easily be confused with that we dedicate the Website to Clark’s Grebes because of similar Tom's memory, and have included coloration and behavior. But Clark’s a page "Tom's Corner" to recog- Grebe has white around its eyes nize individuals and projects in keeping with his spirit. with an up-turned bright yellow bill Horned Grebe whereas the Western Grebe has a WIN A FREE SIBLEY GUIDEBOOK! The time to pay dues is now. Those who have paid by October will be entered in a drawing for a copy of Sibley's Guide to Birds. 15 The winner will be announced at the October program meeting. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Financially supports the programs and activities of the Palouse Audubon Society and includes an annual subscription to THE PRAIRIE OWL newsletter. Annual Membership $15.00 Donation _______________ For questions call: (208) 874-3207 NAME ____________________________________________ ADDRESS _________________________________________ CITY ____________________________________ State ____________________ Zip _________________________ PHONE _________________________________ EMAIL ___________________________________________________ Return this form with your check to: Palouse Audubon Society, PO Box 3606, Moscow, ID 83843-1914 Check one: I PREFER TO READ THE PRAIRIE OWL ON THE WEBSITE (notice will be sent by email after a new issue is posted on the website) PLEASE SEND A HARD COPY OF THE PRAIRIE OWL PAGE 3 THE PRAIRIE OWL VOLUME 42 ISSUE 2 Grebes continued Bird Videos Follow this link if you want to see a video of this mat- When most people want to find information online ing behavior: http://www.youtube.com/watch? they Google it. But more and more people are learn- v=AkshIwdw7DY. It is really quite remarkable, and I ing that they can find a video on YouTube about al- think you will enjoy it if you’ve never seen it before. Be most any subject you can imagine. So, next time you on the lookout for mating Grebes. Here’s another video want information about a bird, check for it on You- for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O8_DMfPJus Tube. Eared Grebes are perhaps the most abundant of all Grebes around the world. They are easy to recognize in There are a couple of birding documentaries I breeding plumage with their red eyes from which a highly recommend for your pleasure and edification. plume of golden feathers fan backwards into a black The Life of Birds is an excellent BBC series hosted head, neck and back. This plumage disappears in the by David Attenborough on Netflix; it’s also available winter. These birds hold the record for being flightless on YouTube. longer than any other species. They can be land bound for up to nine or ten months out of the year. Earthflight is another BBC production you can In mating season Horned Grebes have an interesting find on PBS and Youtube. Currently, it is airing live feather formation extending back and up into horns from on Wednesdays at 8 PM. http://video.pbs.org/ their red eyes. Their head hack of neck and back is black program/nature/ with chocolate brown front neck and belly. This all dis- Another great documentary I enjoyed recently is appears and turns black and white in winter. These Grebes lay 3-7 light green eggs in a floating nest an- about Snowy Owls in the Arctic. It’s called Magic of chored to other vegetation. the Snowy Owl. Least Grebes hang out in Texas and Mexico. This div- You might also enjoy Ghost Bird, which is a docu- ing bird can hide under water while breathing through mentary about the obsession of birders after a kay- its beak barely visible above the surface. But you won’t aker reported seeing an ivory-billed woodpecker. see one in our neck of the woods. The distinctive characteristic about the Pied-billed Check out Birders: The Central Park Effect and Grebe is that it displays a black ring around its bill dur- Bird Park, both on Netflix. ing mating season, but it goes away in winter. It’s rare to see this bird in flight as it prefers to escape by diving. In the mood for a birding movie? Try The Big The Red-Necked Grebe has a reddish neck during Year if you haven’t seen it yet. This may be a movie breading season with white cheeks and black eyes. The only a birder could love. To others, it’s a fowl flick. red neck disappears after mating season. Of course there’s always the classic 2001 Winged Migration. You will probably enjoy Fly Away Home, which is a dramatic tale of a father and daughter trying to lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air. If you have a favorite bird video, please share it with us on our Facebook page: https:// www.facebook.com/groups/364435749380/ Least Grebe Pied-billed Grebe Red necked Grebe PAGE 4 THE PRAIRIE OWL VOLUME 42 ISSUE 2 November 20 Program Palouse Audubon Donors Birding the Lower Rio Grande Valley 2012-2013 John & Alice Kramer The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) in Texas Elise Augenstein Glen & Mary Lanier has a multitude of outstanding birding opportunities.