A Grebe-y Kind of Day!

 

Pied-billed Grebe cruising the cove behind the house

Yesterday through early this morning brought more west and southerly winds. Not great for bringing in new things, at least species that would be coming from the north. However, a recent report of two White-winged Scoters (never relocated, sadly) from a lake in a neighboring county got me itchy to ride. I also wondered whether west winds might push some stuff over that normally have more western migration pathways - like maybe a Common Raven, or a Western or Red-necked Grebe, perhaps. I wanted to get out to Spring Lake early to see if I could catch gulls again and maybe sift out an Iceland or Glaucous Gull at dawn before they leave to feed for the day as well. I set the alarm for 05:30 and left just as the sun was getting up. A little later than I'd hoped - but leisurely sipping coffee felt good. 

I arrived to find all kinds of commotion - the park workers were taking the docks out of the water for the winter. Lots of loud noise and activity. Most of the gulls were already gone. Darn. It's a big lake though, so I walked a little ways away to my favorite viewing deck and started scanning. 

I found a group of three Horned Grebes right away. Not a new bird for me - but promising. These birds likely just arrived, as they hadn't been reported to my knowledge. There also some Northern Shovelers and Gadwalls swimming around. Ruddy Ducks were largely gone. Stuff had turned over! 

After about 30 minutes or so, two birds on the far shore (as always) caught my eye. They were obviously grebes, but were larger and had thick necks and bills, and pale patches on their faces. Red-necked Grebes! I was thrilled and was so glad that I made the trip today. I watched them for a while as they loafed and preened, lazily floating around the cove. I managed to get some poor photos. The "best" one is posted below. 

Crummy photo - great birds. Red-necked Grebe obtained!

After soaking in the grebes I scanned the lake a few more times. Nothing else new. It was time to go meet some fellow furloughed federal employee friends for lunch. I had an uneventful ride home, and we had a nice lunch catching up together. Hopefully, we'll all be back to work soon. 

After running various errands the rest of the day, I got home and decided to skywatch for a little while. Maybe get that Raven I was hoping for earlier. I grabbed a beverage and brought the dogs with me outside. Unfortunately, since we were two hours away from their feeding time, they couldn't stop obsessing about getting back inside. So I brought them back in and sat for a short while watching the clouds move through up high. The wind had now shifted to the northwest. The highlight of the watch was a Merlin shooting through the yard. A nice end to the day. The Red-necked Grebes put me up to 236 species. Wow! 

Cheers from skywatch! 





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