Since 1996 I’ve paddled Potholes Reservoir near Moses Lake almost every year to see and photograph the Western (and Clark’s) Grebe mating dance. Some years, I led kayak birding groups where the paddling was more social then photographic. More often I went solo. Most years I struck out, seeing no dance at all or merely hearing the rush with sight obscured by ubiquitous willow or sedges. Potholes is a large area. The Grebes don’t nest in the same place every year and are often difficult to find. In 2012 I chose to kayak solo along with two photographers in a motorboat. We hit the mother lode. We discovered a large nest colony with enough open water to yield good sight lines and with over-the-shoulder morning light. Four straight 5am starts gave us ample photo-ops. Western Grebe in mating ritual at Potholes Reservoir.The Grebe (both Western and Clark’s) mating dance ritual begins with parallel nodding and preening. If this intensifies, it may culminate in a faceoff — a face-each-other, bent-neck stare down. The birds then erupt from the water, legs churning, water parting, both birds racing like Jesus for the ten or so seconds that they can keep it up. Western Grebe adding material to floating nest, with eggs, at Potholes Reservoir.Each day I dropped a stone-filed bag over the side to anchor the kayak, and set up with my then new full-frame Canon 5D III, and 500mm f4 w/1.4x tele attached. I shot either hand held or with the lens resting on a deck bag. We shot a couple of hours each morning. On three of the mornings I got good sequences, all better than anything from prior years. I was ecstatic.
