ML206715181

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

***Mega. 12 records accepted by MARC, with some other historical records not yet evaluated. Last record in Essex County was the long-staying (14 years; from December 1995 through March 2008) individual that hugged a buoy annually each winter at Eastern Point in Gloucester. Originally spotted by FCM, who noted an odd, dark grebe offshore. Shortly after, it was observed by SMW as well, who agreed it was an interesting bird worth further consideration. The bird was distant at this point, about 500 m, but we noted a small grebe with a dark neck and mostly dark face with some white on the chin and cheek. Initially, we both were trying convince ourselves that it was a molting Horned Grebe, but the forehead was steep and straight, and peaked sharply at the top of the crown. This further suggested Eared Grebe to us, so we positioned ourselves to the closest point of land for closer study. At only 100-200 m, we could see that the neck was almost entirely dark except for the very most ventral side of the neck, and a pale spot just below the nape that almost reached around the back of the neck, which had only a thin black line. The head was mostly dark except for a well-defined chin patch. All nearby Horned Grebes had mostly white necks with a thin black line running up the back of the neck, and white chins and auriculars with black caps. The bill was entirely dark, whereas closer nearby Horneds had a noticeable pale tip. The iris was a scarlet red. The back and neck were a dark gray in contrast to an almost black cap. The rear of the bird was more rounded and sat higher above the water, with the rear fluffy white flanks especially sitting higher above the water than nearby Horneds. This gave the bird an overall appearance of a tall-necked waterbird with a poofy round body. It originally was spotted far away from any other grebes, but eventually joined and associated with four Horned Grebes. After 40 minutes of closer observation with Horned Grebes, it drifted away and only loosely associated with the Horneds for the next 30 minutes until we left.

Technical information

Model

iPhone 8

Lens

iPhone 8 back camera 3.99mm f/1.8

ISO

20

Focal length

4 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/1.8

Shutter speed

1/426 sec

Dimensions

1048 pixels x 969 pixels

Original file size

162.87 KB