Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

 

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

Pied-billed Grebe [lateral view of basic-plumaged individual]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Shady Lane, Putnam County, Tennessee; 17 December 2011.

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Abundance: Fairly Common during fall, winter, and spring; Very Uncommon during summer; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the wintering population is probably stable, but data regarding the very small breeding population are too thin to determine a trend (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; a small, sporadic breeding population exists, arguing that this grebe should be enjoy this status in the Region, a category made all the more plausible by the regular presence of summering individuals in many Regional counties; photograph (above).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 153 (21 December 2017; Barren County, Kentucky [Barren Lake CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 21 (25 September 2010; DeKalb County, Tennessee [FBB]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 3 (24/25 April 1965; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent and Historical). A nesting record was made 1 May 1939 in Morrison, Warren County, Tennessee (Todd 1944; referenced to incorrect county by Devore 1975 and Robinson 1990).  During the Breeding Bird Atlas project in Tennessee, a brood of young was found on the lake at Cumberland Mountain State Park in the Dorton 3 block, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Nicholson 1997).  During the UCR Foray in Jackson County, Tennessee, an adult with two half-grown young was found in the backwaters of Jennings Creek in the Whitleyville 6 block 30 May 2009 (Barbara H. Stedman).

Habitat: Bodies of water of all sizes and depths.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 2 (of 125) check-lists during 2003 and on 5 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Rare during each year; this YardWatch frequency classification indicates that this grebe is less likely to be encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole, an expected result of the YardWatch project, given that few yards and neighborhoods typically sustain habitat suitable for this species.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

County Dates when Foray Conducted Total Blocks
in County *
Total Blocks in which
Pied-billed Grebe
Recorded
Total Individuals
Recorded
         
Adair 816 June 2014 46 0 0
Barren 1–6 June 2013 54 0 0
Clinton 12–14 June 2009 24 0 0
Cumberland 1620 June 2014 35 0 0
McCreary 30 May5 Jun 2011 51 0 0
Metcalfe 812 June 2013 32 0 0
Monroe 1–12 June 2015 35 0 0
Pulaski 511 June 2010 72 0 0
Russell 1316, 2629 June 2012 31 0 0
Wayne 28 May3 June 2012 54 0 0
         
Kentucky   434 (408) 0 (0%) 0
         
Bledsoe 1824 June 2012 48 0 0
Clay 12–15 June 2010 30 0 0
Cumberland 29 May4 June 2010 75 0 0
DeKalb 2326 May 2008 40 0 0
Fentress 1117 June 2012 55 0 0
Jackson 29 May1 Jun 2009 40 1 0
Macon 1722 June 2013 32 0 0
Morgan 1–8 June 2014 58 0 0
Overton 2329 May 2011 47 0 0
Pickett 2225 May 2009 24 0 0
Putnam 6–12 June 2011 46 0 0
Scott 924 June 2016 62 0 0
Smith 1525 June 2015 37 0 0
Van Buren 13–15 June 2011 33 0 0
Warren 1–10 June 2016 47 0 0
White 1–6 June 2015 50 0 0
         
Tennessee   724 (651) 1 (0.14%) 0
         
Region   c. 1158 (1059) 1 (0.09%) 0

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarksx

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.

Burgess Falls SP, Putnam/White Counties, TN Barren River Lake SP, Barren County, KY
Cumberland Mountain SP, Cumberland County, TN General Burnside Island SP, Pulaski County, KY
Edgar Evins SP, DeKalb County, TN  
Fall Creek Falls SP, Bledsoe/Van Buren Counties, TN Pulaski County Park, Pulaski County, KY
Frozen Head SNA, Morgan County, TN Waitsboro Recreation Area, Pulaski County, KY
Rock Island SP, Warren/White Counties, TN  
Standing Stone SP, Overton County, TN Big South Fork NRRA, KY and TN
   
Cane Creek Park, Putnam County, TN  
Roaring River Recreation Area, Jackson County, TN  

Literature Cited