Birdland: Like A Little Submarine

Audubon.org has a wonderful podcast about the remarkable Pied-billed Grebe, a master of its own buoyancy. As described by Audubon, the grebe floats like a foot-long cork among the lily pads. “Suddenly the grebe begins to sink, inch by inch, like a submarine—until it disappears! Thirty seconds later, it reappears, just its head above the water, peering left and right.” That’s because grebes, unlike ducks, can squeeze out the air trapped in their feathers, and sink effortlessly.  This Pied-billed Grebe was photographed at Bluff Lake by Park Hill resident Mark Silverstein.