The Grebes at Lake Hodges have been very active rushing this year. I have 47 keeper rushing sequences from January that vary from 18 to 131 photos in a sequence at 5, 10 or 20 fps. The 8 posted here and the 2 from the prior post are single frames from those sequences. I also stitch them together to make short video clips. During February I have been shooting only 4K video, which is going to take some considerable time to edit. I find that shooting video is much harder than stills and I am not sure how that is going to turn out. Maybe not well. I may post some of those later once I figure out how to post a video on this site.
Although the grebes are present in large numbers and are very active in rushing and other mating activities there is no nesting that I have been able to find. The water level in the lake is low and the reeds and bushes that line the shore of Bernardo Bay and the east end of the lake where they nest are out of the water. Grebes attach floating nests to those plants and there is little or nothing in the water for them to use. This looks very bad for the production of chicks. The water level is controlled by the water authority in SD county and they have lowered the lake level for the forseeable future because of structural issues in the dam at the west end of the lake. If I see any sign of nesting I will post something on this site, but it looks like the prospect for lots of chicks riding on their parents is bleak.
I hope you enjoy seeing these images, and your comments and critique is welcome.
Dave
P.S. I may post some of these images in the 600/4 thread in the Sony forum.
Some fine shooting there, Mr. Clark.
I had an opportunity to shoot the grebes about 2 years ago, these birds are amazing.
Think I will have another go this spring if the weather permits.
These are really, really nice, Dave, but am disheartened to read your comments. Was looking forward to heading down there later in the year to shoot the chicks.
Nice series...I wonder if artificial nesting sites could be developed? Lucky birds can fly to other more suitable areas. Our grebes (Oregon) don't start nesting until the summer.
Awesome shots Dave.
We have a Western Grebe nesting location in the interior of BC. I have only gone to try and get rushing shots once before but I'm certainly going to try again this year after seeing these amazing shots. I'm just not sure if our location lends itself to really low shooting angle and clean foreground/backgrounds as they seem to rush in amongst the vegetation they use for attaching their nests. Of course our location doesn't start till late April or May I think.
Anitajo24 wrote:
Amazing set. Stunning. I can’t wait to see the video.
I hope the Grebes can adapt to the new water levels quickly.
Thank you for posting.
Anita
Thanks Anita. I have some of the videos but I am not satisfied with the way they were rendered to HD. I am going to try some other methods and if something useful comes out of that I will post something. It may be a while.
---------------------------------------------
surfnron wrote:
Great work Dave ~ Ron
Thanks Ron.
---------------------------------------------
vphan wrote:
Awesome set Dave. I like them all but #4 is my most favorite
Vince
Thanks Vince. I have a hard time picking favorites but those with the grebes coming directly at the camera are hard to beat.
---------------------------------------------
Pius Sullivan wrote:
Some fine shooting there, Mr. Clark.
I had an opportunity to shoot the grebes about 2 years ago, these birds are amazing.
Think I will have another go this spring if the weather permits.
Pius
Thanks Pius. I spend a lot of time at Lake Hodges watching the grebes. Even if you don't get good images of rushing, I recommend visiting grebe colonies if you can.
---------------------------------------------
Fred Amico wrote:
These are really, really nice, Dave, but am disheartened to read your comments. Was looking forward to heading down there later in the year to shoot the chicks.
Thanks Fred. Yes, I am very concerned about the lake level change. I will try to post something if I see that the nesting situation is not as bad as I fear. The grebes are pretty adaptable so I hope they manage somehow.
---------------------------------------------
Bobg657 wrote:
Gorgeous images Dave, but bad news for chick production, thanks for posting.
Bob
Thanks Bob. Chicks may be a problem, but I will try to let you know if the situation changes.
---------------------------------------------
kmunroe wrote:
nicely captured Dave
Thanks Kenny.
---------------------------------------------
mogul wrote:
Nice series...I wonder if artificial nesting sites could be developed? Lucky birds can fly to other more suitable areas. Our grebes (Oregon) don't start nesting until the summer.
I spoke with the rangers and they are not planning any interventions to create nesting sites. There are other lakes in the area where grebe nesting is occurring, but none of them have the grebe colony size that Lake Hodges has. The grebes do not readily migrate. The seem to feel very vulnerable in flight and they seem to migrate at night, so I have not observed any migration.
---------------------------------------------
arbitrage wrote:
Awesome shots Dave.
We have a Western Grebe nesting location in the interior of BC. I have only gone to try and get rushing shots once before but I'm certainly going to try again this year after seeing these amazing shots. I'm just not sure if our location lends itself to really low shooting angle and clean foreground/backgrounds as they seem to rush in amongst the vegetation they use for attaching their nests. Of course our location doesn't start till late April or May I think.
TFS
Geoff
Thanks Geoff. I hope you can get some good images in BC. My observation is that the grebes seek open water for rushing. I prefer to shoot from the shore and get as low as possible. There are docks at Lake Hodges that I use that are pretty low to the water. The shore, as you describe, can be a problem if it is steep. The other problem is the sun angle. The grebes do not rush very often early in the morning when the light is ideal. The grebes usually get most active later in the morning when they warm up and have had some breakfast. Good luck and I look forward to seeing some BC grebe activity.
---------------------------------------------
Warkari wrote:
Stunning set, Dave.
Voted
Amit
Thanks Amit.
---------------------------------------------
Greg Schneider wrote:
Superb set. Were you on land for these?
Thanks Greg. All these are shot from the shore, often from the end of a dock. They are shot from a tripod with the RRS FG-02 liquid gimbal head. Lake Hodges is closed to boating during the winter so you have to hike in a few miles to the spots I like. I prefer winter shooting from the shore since there are few people and no fishermen in boats roaring around on the lake. The lake is now re-opened to boating Sat, Sun and Wed. I sometimes rent a boat to explore the lake and sometimes shoot from the boat, but it is not as stable as I like, and the other boats can be a problem. I usually avoid those days and hike in.
