Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
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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 | 8–16 June 2014 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Barren | 1–6 June 2013 | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| Clinton | 12–14 June 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland | 16–20 June 2014 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| McCreary | 30 May–5 Jun 2011 | 51 | 0 | 0 |
| Metcalfe | 8–12 June 2013 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Monroe | 1–12 June 2015 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Pulaski | 5–11 June 2010 | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| Russell | 13–16, 26–29 June 2012 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne | 28 May–3 June 2012 | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 434 (408) | 0 (0%) | 0 | |
| Bledsoe | 18–24 June 2012 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| Clay | 12–15 June 2010 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland | 29 May–4 June 2010 | 75 | 0 | 0 |
| DeKalb | 23–26 May 2008 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Fentress | 11–17 June 2012 | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson | 29 May–1 Jun 2009 | 40 | 1 | 0 |
| Macon | 17–22 June 2013 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Morgan | 1–8 June 2014 | 58 | 0 | 0 |
| Overton | 23–29 May 2011 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| Pickett | 22–25 May 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Putnam | 6–12 June 2011 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott | 9–24 June 2016 | 62 | 0 | 0 |
| Smith | 15–25 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.
Remarks: x
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
