I agree with Lewis that this is a Great Blue Heron. I have seen them swimming in deep water and catching fish below the dam at Kerr Reservoir. Adam D'Onofrio Dinwiddie County ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lewis Barnett" <lbarnett@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Alan Wingfield" <Alan.Wingfield@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: "va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 12:38:06 PM Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Western Grebe? Cumberland County, VA 7/18/2010 Hi Alan, A nice little mystery! This is going to sound pretty weird, but what would you say to the suggestion that this was actually a Great Blue Heron swimming? I know this isn't a perfect picture, but the overall structure of the bird, the plumage pattern on the head and neck, the color of the body, and that dark area at the tail all immediately suggested Great Blue Heron to me. I think a Western Grebe would have more black on the crown, the nape, and the body should be darker. I've definitely never seen a Great Blue swimming, but I Googled "great blue heron swimming" and came up with one video that wasn't very helpful and a couple of references to the fact that very occasionally Great Blues will swim in deeper water to hunt fish that swim near the surface. I found a reference to a 1941 article titled "On the swimming of Great Blue Herons," (Murrelet 22(3): 55-56) but haven't turned up the text of that article. Anyway, another possibility to consider. Lewis -- Lewis Barnett lbarnett@xxxxxxxxxxxx On Jul 18, 2010, at 7:38 PM, Wingfield, Alan D. wrote: Today shortly before sunrise I observed what I believe to be a possible Western Grebe as it came into a farm pond in Cumberland County in early dawn light. Given light conditions, my photo is not the best, but it confirms the yellow bill, location of bird in deeper water, the profile and basic color pattern. I took this to being a night-flying bird attracted to open water for a rest stop. If I am correct, Virginia's Birdlife indicates this might be a notable sighting. Comments welcome, particularly those who can falsify my hypothesis. IRS Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice that may be contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding any penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction(s) or tax-related matter(s) that may be addressed herein. This e-mail communication (including any attachments) may contain legally privileged and confidential information intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you should immediately stop reading this message and delete it from your system. Any unauthorized reading, distribution, copying or other use of this communication (or its attachments) is strictly prohibited. <Poss.WesternGrebe.jpg>