Pied-billed Grebe at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge

It doesn't take much of excuse to get Mrs. Geotripper and I outdoors. A hint of needed yardwork here, some house chores there, and rumors of a rare bird at some refuge will do the trick nicely. We were at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge yesterday and didn't see any of the rumored birds, but we got some nice sightings of the more common species. My best surprise and favorite shots of day were of this Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) that popped up in the water right next to our vehicle.

"Popped up" is literally what it did. Pied-billed Grebes have been described as part submarine, given their tendency to dive underwater rather than fly when dangers appear. This one was feeding in the reeds, came up for a moment, and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.