Tn-birders, Frank Bills, Sharon Bostick, Dollyann Myers, and myself went back to Dale Hollow Lake today to try to get a better look at the Aechmophorus grebe that Frank found yesterday. We rented a pontoon boat from Eagle Cove Resorts and looked for 3 hours this morning, despite the cold temps. and windy conditions. We were able to re-locate the bird 3 times, but each time it gave us the slip by swimming away underwater and the flying off before we could see it in flight. Frank briefly caught sight of it once as it flew away and he felt that there wasn't an extensive amount of white in the upper wing (which would tend towards Clark's Grebe). We were able to ease up to about 150 yards one time and I tried to scope it, but the movement of the boat in the wind didn't allow me a great view. It seemed to me that the whole upper head was black and I thought the bill, while pale-ish, was not bright yellow/orange. Both of these facts point towards this bird being a Western Grebe. Our conclusion is that this is probably a Western Grebe, but we're not prepared to say for sure. It will have to stay an Aechmophorus sp., unless someone else can get a better look at it. It seems to prefer the very NE corner of Clay Co. at the Kentucky state line. The area is bordered on the north by Trooper and Tennessee Islands and on the east by the NE part of Clay County. This is on page 66 of the Delorme Gazeteer. It was still an interesting way to spend the day. Great birding, Ron Hoff Clinton, Tn. =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================