Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)

Abundance: Very Uncommon; 12 records in 6 Regional counties, 3 in Kentucky and 3 in Tennessee, each involving a single individual (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during spring (3 records) and fall (8 records); probably should be considered a Winter Resident, but the available records are too few to make this determination, and, in particular, the absence of records from early January to late March prevents so designating it; Visitor during summer (1 record); photographs (see links below).

Information on Records: 

26 March 1995 (1—basic transitioning to alternate) Willow Grove Recreation Area, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman).

30 March 1996 (1—alternate) Willow Grove Recreation Area, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman et al.), possibly the same individual as in the preceding record.

16 November/9 December 1998 (1—basic) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Busroe 1999a and 1999b).

7 & 22 November 2000 (1—basic) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2001a; Calhoon 2002).

3 December 2000 (1—basic) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Busroe 2001b).

4 September 2001 (1—basic) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Busroe 2002a).

28 September 2002 (1—basic) Oneida City Park, Scott County, Tennessee (Nell Moore photo; Knight 2003a).

12 April 2003 (1—alternate) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Pat Collins, Carol D. Williams, Stephen J. Stedman et al.; Casteel 2003c).

30 December 2003 (1—basic) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Nancy S. Layzer), a CBC record.

5 November 2004 (1—basic) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).

6 September 2008 (1) Mason's Island/Bailey's Point, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).

Out-of-Season (Summer) Records:

3–4 June 1980 (1—alternate) Camp Earl Wallace, Lake Cumberland, Wayne County, Kentucky (Richard E. Hines, Danny Watson; Hines and Watson 1980; Stamm 1980d).

Regional Extreme Dates: 

    Spring: 26 March 1995 (Clay County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman)–12 April 2003 (DeKalb County, Tennessee; Pat Collins, Stephen J. Stedman et al.), but see also Out-of-Season (Summer) Records (above).

    Fall: 4 September 2001 (Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer)–30 December 2003 (DeKalb County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman, Nancy S. Layzer).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Most records derive from the large, impounded lakes of the Region, but the record from Oneida City Park, Scott County, Tennessee, where an Eared Grebe was noted on a small impounded lake, indicates that this grebe also occurs occasionally on smaller bodies of water.

Remarks: Arrives earlier in fall than Horned Grebe by over a month, so any monochrome grebe noted in August or September is more likely to be this species than Horned. No evidence of wintering, but the two December records suggest some Eared Grebes probably do so.  The June record may pertain to an injured bird or to a bird not sexually mature in its first full summer; its lingering into early June otherwise seems at odds with the usual nesting phenology of this species within its breeding range.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited