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Horned Grebe or Eared Grebe? Juvenile or adult? Seen feeding on shrimp at LePage Park, near confluence of John Day and Columbia rivers, Oregon. The only other water bird in the vicinity was an adult American Coot.
The white going round the nape of the neck is good for Horned Grebe, the Eared nape is black.
Hi Dan and Lin Dzurisin. Beautiful shots! What a neat capture. I Love the dive photos! I would definitely say this is a Horned grebe adult in non-breeding plumage. The birds are very similar, but a few field marks (easily seen on your great photos) can help to differentiate the two. The Horned grebe has a whitish tip on the bill, which the eared grebe does not. The cheeks of the horned grebe should be all white, and the peak of the head is behind the eye with a white on the front of the neck as well. The eared grebe has a more pointed bill with a dark tip and usually a darker cheek and head in non-breeding plumage, and the peak of the head is right above the eye. Here is the cornell link for comparison to the eared grebe: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared...
I was also using the Sibley guide to birds as a reference.
Thanks again for sharing this spotting!
Spotted on Mar 30, 2013
Submitted on Apr 4, 2013
