I haven't gotten this close to a Horned Grebe since 2018. Unfortunately it wasn't the best looking one, nor was it in a particularly nice setting. I found this bird in a runoff reservoir on the edge of the Mississippi River. It was such an odd spot, my first thought was that the bird was injured or something, but the longer I watched it, the more I was convinced it was simply staying out of the strong current to preen its feathers. This bird literally had its own little pool –which is why the water is completely still in this photo. The water looks brown because it is reflecting the rusty metal reservoir, and you can see the back wall of that behind the bird here. I forgot how cool looking these birds are and it made me think of another time when I was very close to one. Hennepin County, MN 04/12/23

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D500
Exposure:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture:	f/8.0
ISO Speed:	500
Focal Length:	600 mm
Lens:	150.0-600.0 mm f/5.0-6.3