By turns graceful and clownish, the grebes of Washington entertain us with their antics. But these are serious working birds: fantastic fishers, caring parents, swift swimmers, they excel both above and below the water.

Master birder Connie Sidles is presenting remotely and will take participants into the secret lives of all six species of Washington grebes on Thursday, March 13, according to a press release. The program is hosted by the Whidbey Audubon Society at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation meeting house, 20103 Highway 525, two miles north of Freeland.

This is a free hybrid program — both in person and virtual and open to the public. Those wishing to attend via Zoom may register on the Whidbey Audubon website on the events list page on whidbeyaudubonsociety.org.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for socializing followed by a brief meeting at 7:15. The program begins at 7:30.

Sidles is a master birder, a former board member of Birds Connect Seattle (formerly Seattle Audubon Society), a current member of the Conservation Committee, the chair of BCS’s Publications Committee, an environmental educator and the author of four books about nature that focus on the Union Bay Natural Area at the Center for Urban Horticulture.

With a wink and a nod, she adds, “It’s early spring, and the grebes will be courting.”