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Breeding Range. (Fig. 5). Common in the Turtle Mountains; fairly common on the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge; uncommon on the Upper Souris and Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuges and in the lake area of Nelson, Benson, and Ramsey Counties (particularly in vicinity of Stump, Devils, Dry, and Sweetwater Lakes); rare and local elsewhere in the Prairie Pothole Region--definite breeding records at Lake Elsie in Richland County, in Township T130N, R67W of McIntosh County, on Slade National Wildlife Refuge in Kidder County, in Township T142N, R67W of Stutsman County, at Strawberry Lake and Lake Billows in McLean County, and on Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge in Burke County.

Breeding Habitat. Freshwater or slightly brackish, permanent ponds and lakes, usually of 10 acres or more; also characteristic of shallow river impoundments that are managed for waterfowl. Extensive beds of submerged aquatic plants are generally present including such species as eelgrass pondweed, claspingleaf pondweed, and common watermilfoil. Under optimum habitat conditions this species is usually represented by single pairs on ponds of 10 to 30 acres or by a few widely scattered pairs on larger ponds and lakes.

Nesting. Breeding season: Mid-May to late August; peak, late May to early August. Extreme egg dates (13 nests): May 18 (1900) in Ramsey County (Wood 1923) to July 16 [1905] in Rolette County (Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Museum). Extreme dates of dependent young (34 broods): June 13 [1900] in Ramsey County (Wood 1923) to August 22 [1963] in Rolette County (H. F. Duebbert).

The floating nests are situated either on open water or near open water along the margin of emergent marsh vegetation. These nests ordinarily are composed of matted submerged aquatic plants or of floating vegetative debris. Of two nests found in Rolette County in 1897, one was described as a floating mass of grass and weeds in 2-1/2 feet of water and the other as a mass of floating debris (Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Museum). During 1901 in the Devils Lake region (Abbott 1902), the nests of several solitary pairs, located near a large mixed colony of Western and Eared Grebes, were composed of grasses and aquatic plants. In 1962, a nest observed on Willow Lake in Rolette County was situated about 60 feet from shore in open water 11 inches deep and was composed entirely of matted common watermilfoil (RES).

Indicated clutch size (7 nests): 2 to 4 eggs; mean, 3.1 eggs. On June 17, 1917, Harry C. Oberholser observed an adult with 8 young on Lake Billows in McLean County.

Figure 5. Breeding Range of Red-necked Grebe.