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Western Grebe - comments



I too saw the Western Grebe on Monday at Rolling View. It certainly
appears to be a Western and not a Clark's. It has the black on the face
coming down into the eye, the bill is a plain dull yellow (straw color),
and the back of the neck has a wide black stripe. Clark's has a rich
orange-yellow bill, more white on the face such that the eye tends to be
in the white, and has a very thin black stripe down the back of the
neck. (I've seen lots of both species out West.)

This is not the first report of Western Grebe for the Triangle. Jim
Parnell, and I think Tom Quay, saw one at Lake Johnson in Raleigh many
years ago -- maybe in the 1950s or early 1960s. It was written up as a
General Field Note in Chat. (There are no reports of Clark's for NC, but
now as many as 8-10 reports of Western for NC.)

I too failed to find the White Pelican at Falls yesterday (Russ Tyndall
did??). I drove to the end of Roycroft Road, parked, and walked out to
the flats on the north side of the lake and scanned quite a bit. But --
you can't see ALL the flats, as some are hidden. Funny -- I missed
seeing the Brown Pelican at Falls a few years ago, even though I was at
the right place at Rolling View!

The lake was quite birdy -- 5 Common Loons, up to 20 Horned Grebes, PB
Grebe, Mallard, Black Duck, Gadwall, Am. Wigeon, GW Teal, Ring-necked
Duck, scaup sp., Hooded Merganser, RB Mergansers, Ruddy Duck, and coot.
Maybe Buffleheads aren't quite in yet, as I failed to see any over the
weekend anywhere. And, Bonaparte's Gulls are around to keep company with
the RB Gulls. Cormorants are still common, and an adult and an immature
Bald Eagle were circling overhead. But, shorebirding was poor, as I only
noted Killdeers. The Corps has closed the gates apparently, as the water
level has RISEN over the past week, despite no rain.
-- 
Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net