Cobirders, Photos obtained by others after my report of a Red-necked Grebe (RNGR) yesterday show birds too small and with too small of a bill to be RNGR. These 2 birds were seen and photographed from fairly close to shore on the west side whereas my initial sighting was of 1 bird on the east side by the dam and spillway. Did I make an ID mistake or were there both juvenile Horned Grebes and a RNGR out there? Not sure. It wouldn't be the first time I misidentified a bird. And it reminds me that I should never leave home without my phone adapter and that I should try to digiscope more often, especially when rareties are involved. I definitely had an adult basic-plumaged Horned Grebe cavorting with American Coots at the same time but know my initial bird of excitement had a bright red neck and the presence of facial stripes indicative of juvenile grebes of several species. From numerous app pics and drawings, I thought a red neck in juvenal plumage had to be RNGR. My question to those more learned concerns grebe molt. If rufous (or chestnut or red) necks occur in adult alternate-plumaged Horned Grebes (and we know they do), when does that molt occur? Spring, right? Is it possible for an October Horned Grebe to have a red neck and retain juvenile facial markings? It also reminds me to pay closer attention to more than a couple field marks and not "assume" anything as I also saw the closer birds that were photographed but had stopped "looking" at them once I had put a name to them. Bad boy... Same thing happened on a tour to SoCal where I stopped "looking" at gnatcatchers to find other things. Once home, a participant showed me excellent pics of California Gnatcatchers among the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers I "assumed" they all were. Bad boy... After seeing someone else's photograph of facially-striped Horned Grebes with some rufous in the neck from yesterday (that I don't own and can't post here), I'm wondering if the late afternoon sun duped me or if there is actually a bright red-necked RNGR out there. Even at 40x through an alpha scope I would think it difficult to see a diminutive Horned Grebe well from so far away. In short, I can't get back out there today and would appreciate comments or updates from anyone who can, especially if you find a RNGR! I may need to edit my checklist.
Humbly yours, Chip Clouse Golden -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAPHVJehRzg51ZJ3-w%2BN2rJidCUCi2kpr6LN7oE3Mc3H6MknnpA%40mail.gmail.com.
