A pair of Red-necked Grebes with two juveniles, Star Lake, Ottertail County, Minnesota
Remember, in my last blog post I mentioned a ”few surprising moments” during our last paddle trip in Minnesota a week ago. Here is the second one. When I came slowly around a bend in the canal between the reeds into a little more open space, I immediately recognized a bird species I had never seen before, a pair of Red-necked Grebes with two juveniles. While some of the clicks I made just a few seconds earlier showed the young one behind the adult on the left, this photo reveals that the chick had jumped onto the back of the parent and took shelter in moms or dads plumage while the family moved out of sight. As you may imagine I was tickled about having a first sighting in such a nice way! Yes, the light was very harsh but having this special moment out in the wild, and in addition a second lifer this year, matters more than a perfect photo to me.
Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, @ 600 mm, 1/1600 s, f/7.1, ISO 400, image slightly cropped