ML46495871

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

cropped image reveals all diagnostic characters well. as mentioned in comments the break in the plumage midway on hind-neck seemed odd.

Observation details

NOTES: Bird first observed near the closest green channel marker of the passage between Portland Head and Cushing Island looking directly north at 1:55pm(Saturday 1/20/17) It was swimming in the direction of the Head Light where I was standing. I ran through the possibilities of what it would likely be, but quickly realized it wasn't fitting any of those diagnoses. As it got somewhat closer the idea of WEGR occurred to me based on the length and narrowness of the white throat. The bird continued in the same direction without diving, maintaining a constant 75 yards (approximate) distance from shore. The sky was overcast when I first picked up on the bird and by the time it cruised past the Light, the skies cleared and the bird came into full sun which set it off nicely from the dark water. All details of the bird became easily discerned. It moved through at a casual pace and infrequently turned its head in either direction. One detail that stood out to me as a bit unusual is the break in the black stripe up the back of the neck connecting to the black cap. (See image) When the bird rounded the corner of the Head, it finally dove. I began counting to see how long it would stay under. It never re-appeared. And that is consistent with my first experiences with this species in WA. They have a way of vanishing from sight. I spent a good ten minutes looking for it and could not re-locate it. I drove over to Pond Cove to see if it might turn up there but it was not seen from that area. As soon as I got to a place with a signal for my phone I made calls to get the word out. Am unable to post to the listserv from my new laptop for some reason. Have notified the records committee. Status RARE. Elegant, stately bird with long narrow two-toned neck and head: white in front of neck and lower half of head and black hind-neck connecting with black cap. Edge between black and white distinct,fairly sharp. Black in cap envelops (red)​​ eye, one characteristic that separates WEGR from CLGR. Narrow-based dagger-like bill (appearing slightly upturned, enhanced by angle of lower edge of cap) mostly yellow with dark culmen and lower edge to mandible.(CLGR bill smaller, sharper, and orange in color) Gray mantle. Gray transitions to sides of neck at its base. Head is wedge-shaped when viewed frontally. It rides low in the water in typical grebe fashion. Viewed for 15 minutes.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D7100

ISO

1000

Focal length

550 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/4000 sec

Dimensions

1464 pixels x 992 pixels

Original file size

1.17 MB