The very first food that young grebes eat is feathers. It is therefore not surprising to see a grebe pluck feathers from its chest or belly and feed them to its young. The feathers are meant to form a protective layer in their stomach so that swallowed bones do not sting as much and cannot cause damage. The feathers do not digest in the stomach, so after a while, they are thrown up as a ball together with the indigestible fish bones. After that, the grebe can renew the protective layer by eating feathers again. The grebes repeat this throughout their lives. Learned young is done old!
There is a lot to say about photography, but good photos say it all. My portfolio offers a selection of my work, photographed in the versatile Ameland landscape, which is different every day. The photos tell my story and show that photography is my passion... Read more…