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Articles

Vol. 52 No. 2 (2021)

GROUND NESTING BY AECHMOPHORUS GREBES IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Submitted
September 14, 2025
Published
April 1, 2021

Abstract

 Nesting by grebes of any species on a solid nonfloating surface, such as the ground, rocks, or a concrete structure, is very rare and has been reported in only five
species: the least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus; Hayes 2018), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus; Simmons 1955, Ulfvens 1988), Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus;
Fjeldså 1973), and Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark’s Grebe (A. clarkii; Nero et al. 1958, Nero 1959). In the latter two species such nests are considered rare (riensche et al. 2009, laPorte et al. 2013). For example, Hayes et al. (pers. comm.) observed no active nests on land during a ten-year study of 32,234 nests of the Western and Clark’s Grebes at Clear lake, lake County, California, although a few with abandoned eggs were stranded by receding water levels. Here I report on Aechmophorus grebes nesting on the ground in a wetland in southern California.

References