Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2022

Ken Comeau document.getElementById("wpmt-110411-128469").innerHTML = eval(decodeURIComponent("%27%6b%63%6f%6d%65%61%75%31%33%40%6a%75%6e%6f%2e%63%6f%6d%27"))*protected email*

Clear, calm day, late afternoon light. Calm, flat water.

Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 60mm scope w/20x-60x zoom. Eagle Optics Denali 7x32 binoculars. Zeiss 10x42 binoculars.

Not seen in the wild before. I have studied field guides and other bird books quite a bit, so my identification was made based on features I was familiar with based on my study of illustrations and descriptions in books and field guides.

Open water in a west-facing, semi-protected bay. There were some reed beds along the shoreline, and we saw Mallards along the shore.

Birds were seen swimming offshore. Occasionally would dive as if hunting fish but for the most part they just slowly swan along the shore, gradually heading further offshore.

No vocalizations were noted.

When we first arrived at the bay the birds were quite obvious about 100 feet offshore. No other birds were immediately obvious. Initially we focused on the size and shape of the birds, noting their very long necks and overall slender shape. Additionally, their coloring was distinctive, black on the back running all the way up the neck and onto the head down to the yellow bill. Underneath was a clean white, running all the way up the neck under the chin, and wrapping up onto the face. Lighting was good, and through the scope we noted a red eye. The pair of birds tended to stay close to each other, taking turns diving every so often as if fishing. They gradually worked further offshore. The black on the head dipped below the eye on the side of the face, helping us rule out Clark’s Grebe. Spent about half an hour watching these birds before the light started to disappear and viewing with our optics became difficult.

Overall shape was slender, with very long necks, almost cormorant length. Much less bulky than loons, and much longer necks than any loon, even Red-throated Loons. Much larger than other grebes, including Red-necked Grebes.

Black crown, round head with a relatively steep forehead. Black went down on cheeks below the red eye. Rest of face was white, as was the chin and throat. Nape was black. White wrapped around the neck on the sides but not completely, leaving a black strip down the back of the neck.

Bill was yellow, slender, and quite pointy. Fairly consistent taper from base of bill down to the point. Perhaps a bit longer than the head, although my notes aren’t very detailed on the length. Never saw the feet.

Back was black down to the waterline at least.

Black

Didn’t note wing shape and length as birds never really flapped them during observation. Overall, folded against the back and side they appeared black.

Breast was white, as was the belly as far as I could tell when seen briefly as the birds dove.

Not noted

Red-necked Grebe in winter plumage was ruled out due to size and shape differences. Birds were loon-sized, but more slender, whereas a Red-necked Grebe would be much smaller. Also, these birds showed much steeper foreheads than Red-necked Grebes typically show.
All loon species were quickly ruled out by the length of the neck that these birds displayed. Neither Common or Red-throated Loons show such a long neck. They also tend to appear bulkier and sit lower in the water than these birds did.
Cormorants were ruled out by coloring, as they don’t show nearly that much white underneath, even Great Cormorants. Also their bills exhibit a more asymmetrical shape and are shorter in relation to their heads than these birds had. As well their heads are shaped very differently, longer and flatter.

These were adult birds, sex was not determined