Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Abundance: Fairly Common; recorded in 17 Regional counties, 5 in Kentucky and 12 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts indicate the population wintering in the Region is small but stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).
Status: Winter Resident; photograph [lateral view of basic-plumaged individuals] (Stephen J. Stedman; Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; 2 December 2002).
Regional High Count: 575 (23 February 1997; Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman).
Regional Extreme Dates:
Early Fall: 1 October 2011 (Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer).
Late Spring: 17 April 2009 (DeKalb County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman).
Note: Fall arrival generally widespread by 20 October; spring departure typically complete by 1 April. Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure during winters from 2002–2003 to 2011–2012 follow:
| Winter of... | Early Fall Arrival Date | Late Spring Departure Date |
| 2002–2003 | 18 October | 4 April |
| 2003–2004 | 10 October | 14 April |
| 2004–2005 | 17 October | 7 April |
| 2005–2006 | 16 October | 8 April |
| 2006–2007 | 13 October | 14 April |
| 2007–2008 | 24 October | 12 April |
| 2008–2009 | 18 October | 17 April |
| 2009–2010 | 16 October | 5 April |
| 2010–2011 | 22 October | 31 March |
| 2011–2012 | 1 October |
Habitat: Mainly restricted to the big lakes of the Region, but uncommonly found on smaller lakes and larger ponds, especially during the periods of migration.
YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.
Remarks: Some information about the wintering behavior of this grebe in the Birds of North America account of this species (Stedman 2000) was collected at the Floating Mill Recreation Area on Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee. Numbers of Horned Grebes detected at this site during many winter seasons may be accessed via this link:
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.
| Barren | Metcalfe | Adair | Russell | Pulaski |
| Monroe | Cumberland | Clinton | Wayne | McCreary |
| Macon | Clay | Pickett | Fentress | Scott |
| Smith | Jackson | Overton | Putnam | Morgan |
| DeKalb | White | Cumberland | ||
| Warren | Van Buren | Bledsoe |
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
