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Breeding Range. (Fig. 8). Locally common in the Turtle Mountains, throughout the Missouri Coteau, and in restricted areas of the Northeastern, Southern, and Northwestern Drift Plains, particularly in the lake area of Benson and Ramsey Counties (vicinity of Devils, Sweetwater, and Dry Lakes, and Lake Alice), in Sargent County (Lake Fedge and Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge), and on the Arrowwood, J. Clark Salyer, Upper Souris, and Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuges. Apparent breeding pairs also have been recorded in the Agassiz Lake Plain Region in Township T155N, R52W of Walsh County and on the Missouri Slope in Township T135N, R84W of Morton County.

Western Grebes are similar to Eared Grebes in that breeding populations are frequently represented by colonies. Records of some of the larger colonies are as follows:

Colony of 3,000 adults in Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge in 1949 (C. V. Fermanick); colonies of 250 and 150 adults in 1953 (F. R. Martin); large colonies also present in 1954 (R. T. and A. M. Gammell).

Colony of 1,000 adults on Dry Lake in Ramsey County in 1901 (Abbott 1902).

Colony of 750 adults on Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge in 1960 (R. T. and A.M. Gammell); 50 broods produced in 1960, 60 nests in 1964, and 130 young raised in 1965 (H. L. Bradley).

Colony of 300-500 nests on Sweetwater Lake in Ramsey County on June 10, 1896 (E. S. Bryant).

Colony of 200 nests on arm of Devils Lake in 1897 (Davie 1898); large colony on Creel Bay of Devils Lake in 1917 (Bailey 1918d).

Colony (probably 100 pairs or more) on Alkaline Lake (Lake Arthur) in Kidder County during 1962-1970 (RES).

Colonies (Probably 100 pairs or more) on Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge in 1968 (refuge bird record file).

Other large colonies have been recorded in the Lostwood area (Burke or Mountrail Counties) in 1915 (Woodruff 1923); on Carpenter Lake in the Turtle Mountains in 1963 (H. F. Duebbert); on Turtle Lake in McLean County in 1971 (H. A. Kantrud); and on Lake Fedge (RES) and Lake Tewaukon (E. A. Alfstad) in Sargent County in 1971.

Breeding Habitat. Slightly brackish, moderately brackish, and brackish, permanent ponds and lakes that contain large expanses of open water; during prolonged wet periods also breeds on the deeper semipermanent ponds and lakes. Usually, this species breeds only on lakes or ponds of 50 acres or more. Western Grebes also are characteristic of shallow river impoundments that are managed for waterfowl.

Nesting. Breeding Season: Mid-May to early October; peak, late May to late August. Extreme egg dates (820 nests): May 15 [1901] in Ramsey County (Abbott 1902) to July 9 [year ?] in North Dakota (Bent 1919). Extreme dates of dependent young (71 broods): June 13 [1947] on J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge (M. C. Hammond) to October 5 [1974] in Stutsman County (RES).

Descriptions by Abbott (1902), Davie (1898), Job (1902), Reed (1904), and observations of nests in Kidder County in 1969 (H.A. Kantrud) and 1973 (RES) indicate that the large, floating nests of this species in North Dakota are constructed of decayed blades and stems of reeds, bulrushes, and sedges and are situated over water 2 to 4 feet deep in semi-open emergent cover, usually either hardstem bulrush or phragmites. One colony on Devils Lake included about 200 active nests that covered an area of 1 1/2 acres (Davie 1898). In a large colony on Sweetwater Lake the distance between nests averaged about 2 yards (Job 1902).

Indicated clutch size (12 nests): 3 to 7 eggs; mean, 4.2 eggs. In a large colony in the Devils Lake region, 3 to 6 eggs and occasionally 7 and 8 eggs were found in a nest (Abbott 1902). In another large colony on Sweetwater Lake with "acres and acres" of nests, the usual clutch size was three and often four (Job 1902).

Figure 8. Breeding Range of Western Grebe.

Pair of Western Grebes. Burleigh County, May 1974 (photo by Ed Bry).

Pair of Western Grebes exhibiting courtship dance. Burleigh County, June 1974 (photo by Ed Bry).