Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)

Abundance: Very Uncommon (12 records in 6 counties, 3 in Kentucky and 3 in Tennessee, each involving a single individual).

Status: Transient during spring (3 records) and fall (8 records); probably should be considered a Winter Resident, but the available records are too few to make this determination, and, in particular, the absence of records from early January to late March prevents so designating it; occasional Summer Visitor (1 record); photographs (see links below).

Information on Records: 

26 March 1995 (1--transitioning to alternate) Willow Grove Recreation Area, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman unpublished data).

30 March 1996 (1--alternate) Willow Grove Recreation Area, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman et al. unpublished data), possibly the same individual as in the preceding record.

16 November/9 December 1998 (1--basic) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 1999a and 1999b), photo.

7 & 22 November 2000 (1--basic) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2001a; Calhoon 2002).

3 December 2000 (1--basic) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Busroe 2001b).

4 September 2001 (1--basic) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Busroe 2002a).

28 September 2002 (1--basic) Oneida City Park, Scott County, Tennessee (Nell Moore photo; Knight 2003a), photo.

12 April 2003 (1--alternate) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Pat Collins, Carol D. Williams, Stephen J. Stedman et al.; Casteel 2003c).

30 December 2003 (1--basic) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Nancy S. Layzer), CBC record.

5 November 2004 (1--basic) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data).

6 September 2008 (1) Mason's Island/Bailey's Point, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer unpubl. data).

Out-of-Season Records:

3-4 June 1980 (1 alternate) Camp Earl Wallace, Lake Cumberland, Wayne County, Kentucky (Richard E. Hines, Danny Watson; Hines and Watson 1980; Stamm 1980d).

Regional Extreme Dates: 

    Spring: 26 March 1995 (1; Clay Co., Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman)-12 April 2003 (1; DeKalb Co., Tennessee; Pat Collins, Stephen J. Stedman et al.), but see also Out-of-Season Records (above).

    Fall: 4 September 2001 (1; Barren Co., Kentucky; David L. Roemer)-30 December 2003 (1; DeKalb Co., Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman, Nancy S. Layzer).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Most records derive from the large, impounded lakes of the Region, but the record from Oneida City Park, Scott County, Tennessee, where an Eared Grebe was noted on a small impounded lake, indicates that this grebe also occurs occasionally on smaller bodies of water.

Remarks: Arrives earlier in fall than Horned Grebe by over a month, so any monochrome grebe noted in August or September is more likely to be this species than Horned. No evidence of wintering, but the two December records suggest some Eared Grebes probably do so.  The June record may pertain to an injured bird or to a bird not sexually mature in its first full summer; its lingering into early June otherwise seems at odds with the usual nesting phenology of this species within the breeding range.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited: