Western Grebes in San Diego Bay

Western Grebe, San Diego Bay. January 1, 2019. Greg Gillson.

The Western Grebes above were photographed from our chartered boat on the January 1st pelagic birding trip. They were right in the marina next to the docks. The first photo was taken in the early morning and has that warm golden glow many find pleasing. The other photos were in early afternoon.

Western Grebes are common wintering birds on large lakes, bays, and nearshore ocean waters. They also breed on large inland lakes. Western Grebes are more numerous than Clark's Grebes, in the same locales and seasonality, but Clark's seem to me to be more numerous on fresh water lakes as opposed to ocean, at least in my experience both in Oregon and southern California.

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