western grebe 4/25

[squirl033]

spotted this little fella swimming around off the fishing pier at Edmonds this afternoon... looked like he was about 50 yards out, so these are pretty heavy crops. 7D2, 600mm, 1/1250-1/1600 @ f/9.1...

 

[Bill Anderson]

Good catch. We don't see them very often in Edmonds.

 

[Terry O]

Rocky and Bill - I don't think that is a Western - I think it is a Clark's Grebe.

 

[squirl033]

i believe you're right, Terry! i'd never heard of a Clark's grebe, and it looked a lot like a western, so i just figured that's what it was. thanks for setting me straight! according to Birdweb.org, they're found mostly east of the Cascades, considered very rare in the Puget Sound basin from October thru March, and not found here at all the rest of the year, so this appears to be a pretty unusual sighting!

 

[Bill Anderson]

Rocky and Bill - I don't think that is a Western - I think it is a Clark's Grebe.

Even more rare for this area.

Edit: Rocky, I posted a link to your photos on Tweeters. Local birders will be interested in the sighting.

 

[Terry O]

I agree - I've only seen them in Eastern Oregon. Great eye, Rocky!

 

[squirl033]

Even more rare for this area.

Edit: Rocky, I posted a link to your photos on Tweeters. Local birders will be interested in the sighting.

thanks, Bill! i just took a peek, and it doesn't look like the links to the thread or photos here worked...

 

[Terry O]

Here's a shot of a Clark's Grebe I took in 2011 at Malheur NWR, in Eastern Oregon - they look just like a Western but the black crown is above their eye instead of surrounding it.

 

[squirl033]

Here's a shot of a Clark's Grebe I took in 2011 at Malheur NWR, in Eastern Oregon - they look just like a Western but the black crown is above their eye instead of surrounding it.

yup, that looks like the one! thanks, Terry!

 

[Bill Anderson]

The link to this thread from Tweeters must have worked for some people as here is a reply I received from one Tweetster:

Hey Bill et al.:

This is a Western Grebe in normal nonbreeding plumage. A pure Clark's Grebe will have a sharp demarcation between blackish and white above the eye, as well as a diagnostic orange (rather than yellow) bill. As far as I can tell, Clark's is extraordinarily rare in the sound. I have seen roughly 40,000 Westerns in the sound, but have yet to see my first Clark's.

Incidentally, I have noticed a number of people lamenting the apparent loss of Western Grebes from Puget Sound in recent years. I remember rafts of hundreds off Edmonds through the winter as recently as 2006-2007. I didn't keep records, but I recall noticing that they seemed scarcer and scarcer until just a few years ago, when I realized that they were effectively absent in the winter. However, they are still abundant during peak migration times; for example, I estimated 7000+ in dozens of rafts stretching north to south as far as I could see about midway across the sound during an Edmonds-Kingston ferry crossing at the beginning of April this year. I have seen similar numbers at the same time in the last few years, and this seems to jibe with the conventional wisdom that their winter range has shifted southward and that they are now mostly a passage migrant in our area.

Best,

Bob Russell
Mukilteo, WA

 

[squirl033]

interesting... i've had several birders on other forums tell me this is a Clark's based on the fact that the black does not extend below the eye, and it sure looks like a Clark's based on the photos i've seen on sites like Birdweb. oh well...

 

[Terry O]

Here's a link to the Cornell bird lab's photos and info. I looks to me like it could be a non-breeding western, but in your picture, Rocky, the line of black above the eye looks very distinct, more like the Clark's. But the experts rule, in this case - and I am not one! Here's a link to the Cornell Bird Lab site's ID of Western Grebes. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Grebe/id Scroll down to the ID three photos and look at the non-breeding example. In any case, cool that you captured this, Rocky. I had hoped we might get more feedback on Bill Tweeters post from the 'experts'.

Hey if we keep this up, we will be 'experts'

 

[squirl033]

i cropped this one really tight to zoom in on this little guy... the black clearly does extend below the eye... maybe this is a western grebe after all!

 

[Terry O]

Yes, I agree. Many of the Tweeters are really advanced birders, some with degrees in Ornithology. So, turns out you you were right in the first place, Rocky! But it was a fun learning experience.