Kelly, et.al.,

Well guess what? Consensus has shifted on the internet Birdforum
discussion group to Western Grebe, but not with any certainty. For
those of you interested in following the discussion there, the
following weblink is posted:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1130751&posted=1#post1130751

Cheers,
Robert / Seattle


On Feb 16, 2008, at 9:27 PM, Kelly McAllister wrote:

> O.K., I'm open to possibilities. I never could see the lobes on the
> toes that others said they could see in the Issaquah Journal picture.
> However, the wing shape, in the Issaquah Journal photo,?and the light
> color extending out in the primaries sure match Western Grebe and the
> long dangling legs in the Seattle PI photo are really pretty
> extraordinary. I think that the legs of Western Grebes, as long as
> they are and as far back on the body as they are, fit the picture
> better than about any other water bird. So, I'd like to hear the basis
> for other conclusions. I'd be happy if it was a merganser since that
> was my initial impression and I acted like I was certain of it but I
> really think I was wrong (Ooops).
> ?
> Kelly
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Robert Pisano
>> To: Bob Sundstrom
>> Cc: tweeters ; Kelly McAllister
>> Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 8:40 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] dead duck
>>
>> Looks like the consensus on the International "BirdForum" is for male
>> Hooded Merganser, with a nod or two for "grebe spp". Sorry, Kelly,
>> but I think this diagnosis is still "open"
>>
>> Robert / Seattle
>>
>>
>> On Feb 16, 2008, at 8:05 PM, Bob Sundstrom wrote:
>>
>>> Kelly and tweeters,
>>> ?
>>> That "duck" that turned out to be a grebe could also be a Clark's
>>> Grebe.? The apparent amount of white in the primaries may be
>>> exaggerated by the angle of the photo, but Clark's has more
>>> extensive white in the outer wing than Western, which the photo
>>> suggests.? The Sibley Guide p. 29 has good illustrations of them.
>>> ?
>>> Bob
>>> ?
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Kelly McAllister
>>>> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 7:09 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] dead duck
>>>>
>>>> O.K., I'm convinced that the Bald Eagle on Lake Sammamish is
>>>> carrying a Western Grebe which won by both the number of diagnoses
>>>> and the specific characteristics visible in the two photos. Thanks,
>>>> Larry Schwitters, for referring to the picture in the National
>>>> Geographic Guide of a Western Grebe in flight. That's a good
>>>> picture for matching up a number of characteristics, like wing
>>>> shape and color, that I hadn't looked at. Gary Shugart also
>>>> supplied an image from the Slater Museum wing photo collection that
>>>> was a nice match for the bird in both pictures. That wing photo
>>>> collection can be a valuable tool for identifying birds. I remember
>>>> using it once to identify a road-killed bird that was mostly wings
>>>> and little else at the time I found it.
>>>> ?
>>>> Thanks, everyone, for contributing to this exercise.
>>>> ?
>>>> Kelly McAllister
>>>> Olympia, Washington
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: Kelly Cassidy
>>>>> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 5:41 AM
>>>>> Subject: RE: [Tweeters] dead duck
>>>>>
>>>>> My vote is for a grebe, too, on the basis of the legs trailing
>>>>> well behind with no hint of a tail and the apparently short,
>>>>> stubby wings.? The seeming gray in the plumage doesn't look right,
>>>>> but maybe that's a trick of the light.
>>>>> ?
>>>>> Kelly
>>>>> ?
>>>>>
>>>>> From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
>>>>> [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of
>>>>> Larry Schwitters
>>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 12:05 AM
>>>>> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>>>> Subject: [Tweeters] dead duck
>>>>> ?
>>>>> Tweeters,
>>>>> ?
>>>>> When the Issaquah paper came yesterday Leora and I both said
>>>>> "Western Grebe" at the same time. ?For some reason the photo in
>>>>> the paper was more obvious than the image on the computer, which
>>>>> still looks like a Western Grebe with it's head laying over its
>>>>> back
>>>>> ?
>>>>> Does not the second photo
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/myseattlepix/photo.asp?
>>>>> photoID=1008602
>>>>> ?
>>>>> show two very long and strange legs hanging down? ?These do not
>>>>> look like duck legs to me. ?The National Geographic Field Guide
>>>>> has a drawing of a flying Western Grebe that shows off it's long
>>>>> legs. ?It also lists it as 25 inches long.?
>>>>> ?
>>>>> Poor bird.
>>>>> ?
>>>>> Larry Schwitters
>>>>> Issaquah
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>>>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>>>> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
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