ML33929611

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Uncommon/rare or at least underdetected hybrid in Puget Sound region. Perhaps same individual I saw poorly here 1-2 weeks ago, but didn't see on my most recent visit. The bird has obvious rich orange tones to the bill (seen well in field, and adjacent WEGR bills looked greenish yellow at same angles/light conditions), but the culmen was quite dark. The bill was not bright orange as I'd expect on Clark's, but orangey-yellow. There was a white loral spot. The black from the crown did not come down as far as on the Western grebes. The flanks were about as pale as the palest WEGR in the group, but not as pale as I'd expect on pure Clark's. Similarly, the black stripe on the back of the neck was about the same width as the Westerns, but it was noticeably paler in color. Naturally, as soon as I started snapping photos it didn't take long before the bird went to sleep, making further study difficult.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SD850 IS

ISO

800

Focal length

18.6 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.0

Shutter speed

1/80 sec

Dimensions

3264 pixels x 2448 pixels

Original file size

2.02 MB