ML96707181

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

This bird was initially reported on 28 March 2018 by Karen Herzenberg, but I was unaware of its presence when I initially realized it was a Least Grebe and took these photos on 29 March 2018 at Patagonia Lake State Park, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Photos by Curtis A. Marantz.

Observation details

Shortly after an older couple who were looking at birds from the large arch bridge spotted a bird and began looking confused I looked down at this bird and immediately identified it as a Least Grebe. Although the grebe began just off the cattails on the south side of the channel just west of the bridge, over the course of our visit this bird swam first west toward the main part of the lake before turning around when a boat passed and then working its way back to where we initially saw it. When I approached to get photos, this bird swam north across the channel to forage by diving occasionally along the cattails on the north side of the channel before returning to the south side. When several kayaks paddled toward the marina they pushed the grebe east under the bridge and at one point it even flapped its wings as it pattered across the water, eventually working its way to the southeast along the south side of the channel. This bird appeared to prefer to remain right up against the cattails, where it foraged by diving occasionally, but it was also rather way, in that it would quickly swim away whenever I or others approached, and particularly so when a boat or kayak passed by. I used my 10 × 42 binoculars to study this bird in early-afternoon light, at times with the sun at my back but at others at my side, at distances down to about 15 meters. This was a notably small grebe that was conspicuously smaller, and seemingly not as stocky as a Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) that we saw in the same channel. This bird had a relatively slim bill that tapered subtly from a base that was not nearly as deep as that of the Pied-billed Grebe to a blunt tip along a culmen that was barely decurved. I further noted that the bill would have extended backward on the face to a point near the rear edge of the auriculars. Also apparent was that this bird had a relatively steep forehead that curved more sharply at its junction with a crown that was gently rounded, if not with a flattened appearance back to the nape, where it curved downward. The head therefore appeared smaller in proportion to the body than that of the larger grebe and the neck seemed slimmer than that of the Pied-billed Grebe, yet not nearly as much so as those of the Eared Grebes that we had seen earlier. The body was notably plump even if clearly smaller overall than that of even an Eared Grebe and it had a conspicuously hunched back typical of a grebe, this bird’s rear end was fluffy in appearance with no tail evident. The wings were short and seemingly rounded, with the tips falling at the base of the fluffy feathering that may have represented the uppertail coverts. Although I saw this bird’s spread wings when it pattered across the water, I found it difficult to notice any detail during my brief views at this time, and I never did see the belly, legs, or feet. This bird was relatively uniformly dark brown apart from the fluffy rear end, which instead appeared light gray. The forehead and crown may have been a little darker than the sides of the face, but both were a dark, chocolate-brown without reddish or even warm tones. I noted no contrast whatsoever on the sides of the face or the neck, but even though I thought the throat was dark, I was unable to determine its precise coloration. I thought the neck was about the same color as the head, and what I was able to see of the back and closed wings were similarly colored. Whatever I could see of flanks appeared to be quite dark, but it is possible that I did not see them all that well. I thought I could see some white in the wings when this bird pattered across the water, but I was unable to discern where it was located. The bill appeared to be blackish, if not truly black, in its entirety, but the eyes were a bright yellow with an orange cast that resulted in the irides appearing similar in color to a standard pencil and thus contrasting with the small, black pupils.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

320

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

2144 pixels x 1530 pixels

Original file size

4.11 MB