Great Grounded Grebes

Contact: Lucy wold or Steve DeCecco 307-875-3223                                    November 14, 2014

 

GREAT GROUNDED GREBES

GREEN RIVER —The gals over at the Green River Office of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department have been very busy the past two weeks answering phone calls from people reporting they found a bird that looks like a duck or loon stranded, and they want to know what to do with it.

            Turns out, these birds are not ducks or loons, but rather, migrating horned grebes. Grebes are waterbirds and, with this recent brutal cold snap, they are having difficulty finding open water to land. So, they are ending up in some interesting places.

            “We have received phone calls from people who have found a horned grebe in their backyard, on the school grounds, and on the street,” said Regina Dickson office manager. “These small birds are like a fish out of water if they land on solid surfaces. We just did what we could to help the caller and the birds.” 

            There are seven species of grebes with wingspans ranging from 11 inches on the least grebe to 24 inches on Clark’s Grebe. Horned grebes have a wingspan of 18 inches and, like all grebes, need open water to land and take off because their feet are positioned on the far rear end of the body. They are divers and eat small aquatic animals. Grebes and other birds can mistake shiny surfaces for water and then are grounded upon landing until they are put back into the water.

          “The first phone call I received was from a person who found a grebe at a school,” Sheila Watts office manager said. “Then we kept getting more phone calls from people all the way from Lyman to Rock Springs. People were very concerned about the welfare of these birds and we were happy that we were able to help them and the grebes.”

            “It feels good to actually be able to release a live animal, that swims off and appears to be just fine being back in the water,” said Dickson. “These kinds of events sure make the day more interesting and worthwhile.”

          Three of the five grebes reported were brought into the Game and Fish office. Both Dickson and Watts were able to release these grebes into the Green River behind the Game and Fish office, where there is still some open water.  The best thing to do if you find one of these stranded grebes is to put the bird in open water if you can do so safely. Or, if you don’t feel comfortable releasing the bird, you can call the Green River Game and Fish Office at 307-875-3223 and ask for assistance. 

~WGFD~

 

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