I'm forwarding this information on a possible Western Grebe near Skimmer Island (4th Street Flats) in Ocean City that was submitted to eBird. The report has been forwarded to Phil Davis for review by the MD/DC Records Committee since WEGR is a statewide review species.
Tyler Bell
<jtylerbell...>
California, Maryland
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "<edhuestis...>" <edhuestis...>
To: <jtylerbell...>
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2013 10:04 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Question about your Western Grebe observation in eBird
Certainly you can forward it. �I was standing at the foot of 4th Street looking �to the North or Northwest. �The bird was about 100 yards east of the barrier island.
On 02/11/13, James Tyler Bell<jtylerbell...> wrote:
Would you mind if I forwarded your email to the MDBirding group? There are lots of people who would be very interested in looking for this bird! There was a Western Grebe just south of there late last year. Could be the same bird returning?
Tyler
From: "<edhuestis...>" <edhuestis...>
To: <jtylerbell...>
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2013 6:08 AM
Subject: Re: Question about your Western Grebe observation in eBird
Thanks for inquiring. �I'm from the west and have observed both Western and Clark's Grebes very often. �I had misidentified a Red Necked Grebe last year at Parker River NWR, and as a result took closer note of the identifying markings. �What I noted yesterday was the the reported Grebe had a very, very long neck as compared to what would be expected for a RNG; secondly the front side of the neck was very, very white and contrasted very sharply with the black that extended down �the backside of the neck. �The white on the front of the neck also also extended up into the throat, cheek and ear area of the head. �There was no gray or mottling in the neck. �The bill was slender and light in color. �I could not get a read on the eye color. �My wife was also present for this identification. �We discussed it for some time and both agreed it was a Western Grebe, well aware that this was highly unusual. �Before entering it in E-Bird, I checked to see if
any other reports had been made, and was comforted to see that to the both the north (Cape May) and the South (Assateague) had reported sightings. �I'm not sure what additional information I can provide you with, but I do hope this is helpful. �It was a single bird, it was out in the water between the barrier island of Ocean City and the mainland, there were no other birds in it's immediate vicinity.
On 02/10/13, <jtylerbell...> wrote:
Dear Ed Huestis,
I am a regional data reviewer for eBird. My goal is to keep up with data submissions and try to ensure the accuracy of reports of rare and unusual species, as well as unusually high counts of common species.
Can you please provide additional details on the following observation? It is unusual either because it is a species that does not normally occur in this region on this date, or the count you've reported is above expected levels of occurrence.
Species: Western Grebe
Count: 1
Observation date: Feb 10, 2013
Location: Ocean City--Skimmer Island, Worcester, US-MD
Submission ID: S12921996
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12921996
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