I just noticed the same thing this morning at Alum Creek Lake just off the dam except it was a horned grebe and a Bonaparte's gull. ---- Dan Best <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Doug: > > What you witnessed was an example of klepto-parasitism: one kind of > bird or animal letting another do the work and they snatch the reward. > > I was introduced to this term early last spring by Roger Troutman. He > responded to my similar list serv inquiry but in this case it was > gadwalls, as non-diving dabblers, helping themselves to the aquatic > vegetation that the diving coots were bringing up at WC Best Wildlife > Preserve here in Chardon. Check out what Wikipedia has to say about > it for further information and examples. > > Dan Best > > On Nov 6, 2011, at 7:00 PM, Doug Overacker wrote: > > > Julie Karlson and I stopped near the Corps of Engineers Visitor > > Center at > > Buck Creek State Park this morning to scan the lake for waterbirds. I > > started scanning the lake and spotted some Horned Grebes. A > > Bonaparte's Gull > > was there with them. I scanned some more and found another Horned > > Grebe also > > accompanied by a Bonaparte's Gull. Then I found a Pied-billed Grebe > > and it > > was also accompanied by a Bonaparte's Gull. I watched the grebe dive > > and the > > gull flew. Soon the grebe came up and the gull landed right next to > > it. > > Again the grebe dove and the gull flew only to land next to the > > grebe when > > it came up. It repeated this one more time while I watched. My guess > > is that > > if any of the grebes came up with a small fish the gull would try to > > claim > > it. Are there any other explanations? > > > > Doug Overacker > > Springfield, Ohio > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/ > > . > > > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]