Hooded grebe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hooded grebe |
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Podiceps
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| Species: |
gallardoi
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The hooded grebe (Podiceps gallardoi) is a medium-sized grebe bird. It lives in the southern part of Argentina. This bird is about 32 cm (13 in) long and has black and white feathers.
You can find hooded grebes in lonely lakes in the far-off lands of Patagonia. They spend their winters along the coast of the same region. In 2012, the IUCN listed the species as Critically Endangered. This means it is in very serious danger of disappearing forever.
Contents
Life and Habits
During the breeding season, hooded grebes live on lakes in the Patagonian steppes. These lakes are high up, between 500 and 1,200 meters above sea level. Some grebes also use salty lakes when they are not breeding. Others spend winter on the coast of Argentina.
The grebe needs water plants, especially Myriophyllum elatinoides, in its breeding lakes. It uses these plants to build its nests. These plants are also home to the small water bugs that the hooded grebe eats. For example, young chicks eat water beetles.
Grebes build their nests in groups, called colonies. These colonies can have up to 130 pairs of birds. Nesting happens from October to March. However, they do not have many babies. On average, only 0.2 young birds survive per adult each year. Even though they don't have many chicks, adult grebes usually live a long time. This is because they have plenty of food and resources.
Threats to the Hooded Grebe
The hooded grebe faces many dangers throughout its life. One big threat is the American mink. This animal hunts and kills grebes. When the mink first arrived in 2010–2011 on the Buenos Aires plateau, it killed more than half the adult grebes in one colony.
In 2012 and 2013, one mink caused more losses. It killed 15 adults and 7 young grebes at El Cervecero lake. It also killed 10 adults and 5 chicks at the C199 colony. Most of the grebe population lives on the Buenos Aires plateau. This means the mink is a very serious danger to them. A single mink can even wipe out an entire grebe colony.
Other dangers to the grebe population include:
- Too much grazing by sheep. This causes the land around lakes to wear away. It also stops important plants from growing.
- Attacks by Flying steamer ducks (Tachyeres patachonicus).
- Predation by Kelp gulls.
- Volcanic eruptions can harm the population in the short term. Heavy ash can fall and affect the lakes. However, ash can also make the wetlands more productive in the long run.
Habitat
The hooded grebe lives in basaltic lakes during its breeding season. These are lakes formed by old lava flows. When winter comes, the grebes move to estuaries. These are places where rivers meet the sea. So far, the only known wintering spots are on the Atlantic coast of Argentina.
Distribution and Population
Where They Live
The hooded grebe breeds on basaltic lakes in Santa Cruz, a region in southwest Argentina. For winter, they fly to the río Coyle, río Gallegos, and río Chico estuaries. These are all on the Atlantic coast of Santa Cruz.
Some people think the species might also appear by accident in Magallanes, southern Chile. Two hooded grebes were seen in a lake in Laguna Blanca in October 2013.
Population Size
In 1997, scientists thought there were between 3,000 and 5,000 hooded grebes. About half of these lived on Meseta de Strobel. However, recent counts in their wintering areas show a big drop. The population has gone down by 40% in just seven years.
Surveys in 2006 and 2009 also showed sharp declines. For example, at Laguna del Sello, numbers fell from 452 to 51. At Laguna del Islote, numbers went from 700 to zero. Similar drops happened at Tolderia Grande and Lagunas Encadenadas. Overall, counts from 2010-2011 showed an 80% population drop over 26 years.
In 2013, a big count across all known grebe areas found 691 adults and 144 chicks. They were in 12 different colonies. In 2014/2015, 771 adults and 138 young were counted across 18 lakes. Three new lakes with grebes were found. However, the number of lakes with grebes on the Strobel plateau decreased.
In 2009/2010 and 2010/2011, most grebes lived on the Buenos Aires, Strobel, and Siberia plateaus. Five lakes held almost 85% of all grebes. The Buenos Aires plateau did not see a decline between 1984/1985 and 2010/2011. But the Strobel plateau had a very strong decline of 96%.
Scientists believe that the overall decline in the population is real and happening quickly. This is based on counts from both wintering and breeding grounds.
Appearance
Here are the main features that help identify the hooded grebe:
- It is mostly white, but its back is dark grey up to its neck.
- It has a black head with a bright white forehead.
- It has a red, pointed crown on its head.
- Its sides are mostly white.
Status and Conservation
The hooded grebe is threatened by climate change. It is also harmed by the introduction of trout and salmon to the Strobel plateau. Surveys in 2006, 2009, and 2010–2011 found some lakes completely dry. Water levels were also 2–3 meters lower than in past years. Also, winter snowfall has decreased.
Other threats include:
- Kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus) eating grebes at some lakes.
- The recently introduced American mink.
- Too much grazing by sheep.
- The grebe's low ability to have many babies.
Conservation Efforts Underway
Laguna Los Escarchados, where the species was first found in 1974, became a reserve in 1979. However, only a few grebes live there. In 1992, six grebes were seen in Perito Moreno National Park. The most important breeding lakes do not have legal protection. But the grebes on Meseta de Strobel have some safety because the area is hard to reach. A documentary called 'Tango in the Wind' talks about efforts to save the hooded grebe.
Proposed Conservation Actions
Experts have suggested many ways to help the hooded grebe. These ideas come from the Hooded Grebe Project:
- Keep counting grebe colonies and checking estuaries and unfrozen lakes in winter.
- Expand the 'Colony Guardian' program to protect all active colonies.
- Create and carry out a plan to help the species recover.
- Remove the American Mink from the high plateau areas.
- Control the number of Kelp Gulls at breeding sites.
- Increase the ban on putting salmon and trout into grebe breeding lakes.
- Help people understand the harm caused by introducing these fish.
- Study the grebe's life more closely to understand how its groups move around.
- Research on the grebe's migration is planned. This is supported by the Zoological Society of London's EDGE of Existence program and Cornell University.
- Collect real information on how many grebes there are and if their numbers are changing.
- Keep studying the main dangers to the grebe and why its numbers have dropped.
- Use Patagonia National Park as a protected area for managing the species.
- Make the hooded grebe a National Natural Monument.
See also
In Spanish: Macá tobiano para niños
