Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)

Abundance:  Occasional (2 records in 2 Kentucky counties, each involving a single individual).

Status: Transient during fall (1 record) and Visitor during winter (1 record); photograph (see link below).

Information on Records: 

January 1981 (1) Barren River Reservoir, Allen/Barren counties, Kentucky (fide Herbert E. Shadowen; Stamm 1981b).

6-30 November 2002 (1) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, Brainard Palmer-Ball photo, m. ob.; Busroe 2003a), photo (9 November 2002, Brainard Palmer-Ball).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Large, deep lakes are apparently preferred by this swan-like piscivore.

Remarks: Like the Pulaski County bird, the Western Grebe in Barren County stayed 3 weeks (Stamm 1981b); unlike the Pulaski County grebe, the one in Barren County was not photographed, so a conservative approach might consign it to the pool of generic (i.e., Aechmophorus sp.) sightings.

    An Aechmophorus sp. was noted on Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee, 14 February 2004 (Frank Bills, Sharon Bostick, Ronald D. Hoff, Dollyann Myers unpubl. data).

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