[texbirds] Eared Grebe and Bonaparte’s raft, loon with extensive white flanks

  • From: MBB22222@xxxxxxx
  • To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2013 21:12:12 -0500 (EST)

Yesterday one medium size Eared Grebe  raft (about 200) came and fed  right 
in the front of me at Texas City Dike. Inside this raft using grebes as  
beaters about dozen Bonaparte’s Gulls had feast as well - mostly shrimps. A 
few  Red-breasted Mergansers were part of the raft and a few Common Goldeneyes 
swam  nearby. This was not a day to take photos (showers, etc) but it was 
fun to watch  all these guys feeding together; never ha that many grebes and 
Bonaparte’s Gulls  foraging so close to me. And Bonaparte’s put a real show 
demonstrating how they  can grab a prey in many ways. 
 
Just a few snapshots:
_http://www.pbase.com/mbb/bonapartes_gull__eared_grebe_raft___fee
ding__january_12_2012_ 
(http://www.pbase.com/mbb/bonapartes_gull__eared_grebe_raft___feeding__january_12_2012)
 
 
And one Eared Grebe showing breeding plumes (this time of the year?)
_http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/148317604_ 
(http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/148317604) 
 
Another bird drawing my attention was what looked like a Common Loon to me  
(bill, neck, etc) but showing extensive white along flanks all the time. I 
had  no other loon close enough  to compare sizes. I have never seen   
Arctic Loon;  but perhaps those familiar with loons want to take a look  just 
in 
case. I looked up some photos on the web but those only confused me more  - 
there is no guarantee that IDs were correct of some of them anyway. Again  I 
believe this is a Common Loon but in this case a field mark, extensive  
white flanks, can be quite misleading especially when watching loon like that  
from far away - fortunately this one came quite close. 
_http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/148317624_ 
(http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/148317624) 
 
BTW there were quite few Common Loons in the bay and canals along the  
Skyline drive (and without white flanks exposed). 
Mark B Bartosik
Houston, Texas
_http://www.pbase.com/mbb/from_the_field_ 
(http://www.pbase.com/mbb/from_the_field) 

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  • » [texbirds] Eared Grebe and Bonaparte’s raft, loon with extensive white flanks - MBB22222