Western Grebes

Vancouver owns a world record! More Western Grebes have spent the winter here
than anywhere else in the world. Some years, up to 15,000 birds have been counted
in English Bay just off Kitsilano Beach, strung out in a long line or feeding together in
large, dense flocks. Small flocks can also be found around Stanley Park and in Deas
Slough. Once in a while, a pair remains over summer to breed in the cattail marshes
around the lower reaches of the Fraser River.
The best time to watch Western Grebes feed is in the early morning. They dive for up
to a minute at a time hunting for fish, which they grab with their long, sharp bills. All
grebes also have the strange habit of swallowing feathers; the feathers aid to filter out
skeletal parts of swallowed prey items, which are expelled as pellets.

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