Clark's Grebe with staining on breast

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When I scoped for waterfowl at Lake Henry (near Ordway,CO), I was disappointed to find no nesting grebes. Last summer hundreds of Clark's and Western Grebes nested here in the vegetation growing on the west side of this lake. In fact there were few Western and Clark's Grebes compared to the numbers I usually see here.
I was surprised to find that all the grebes I observed had the brownish stain as shown in the top pic and I don't know the origin of it. The bottom pic of another Clark's Grebe at Lake Holbrook (carrying something in it's beak), which is less than 20 miles away, that does not have this staining. If anyone knows why the grebes are stained please note it in the comments. SeEtta

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