[hotrodr]

Tring to figure out what kind of duck this is. It was at Ross Lake in Ross county Ohio today. There seemed to be a pair of them hanging together. I also seen 10 Ring-necked ducks a couple of Malards and lots of Canada Geese. When I first seen this pair I thought it was a pair of Loons as there have been reports of a pair of Loons in the area. I know the photo isn't very good but hope it can be ID'ed from it.
Thanks
Rod Raisanen

[Katy Penland]

Originally Posted by hotrodr

Tring to figure out what kind of duck this is. It was at Ross Lake in Ross county Ohio today. There seemed to be a pair of them hanging together. I also seen 10 Ring-necked ducks a couple of Malards and lots of Canada Geese. When I first seen this pair I thought it was a pair of Loons as there have been reports of a pair of Loons in the area. I know the photo isn't very good but hope it can be ID'ed from it.
Thanks
Rod Raisanen

They look like horned grebes (non-breeding) based on the large white cheek patches, the amount of white on the neck, and it looks like there's some white on the tip of the bill in one of the photos. However, the first photo, with the single bird, looks more like an eared. Is that the same bird as on the right side of the 2nd photo? If it is, I'll stick with horned for both (only because horned is far more likely than eared in Ohio).

[hotrodr]

Thanks. I really didn't have much of a clue until I got home and pulled it up on the computer. With small ducks like these even with the 30X zoom they were still just really hard to see. Plus it was cold and windy today. I also seen a lot of birds in some brush by the lake. I'm going back tommorow and see if I can find the Loons.

Rod

[Dave B Smith]

Rod,
Looks like a Horned Grebe in winter plumage to me from the single photo. They would be migrants in your area. The bill, bird shape, white face pattern, and black cap are what I'm going by. Let's see what others say.

[robinm]

Certainly looks like Horned (Slavonian to us on this side of the Atlantic!) Grebe to me.

[Katy Penland]

Originally Posted by robinm

Certainly looks like Horned (Slavonian to us on this side of the Atlantic!) Grebe to me.

LOL, sorry, Robin, I'm trying to train myself to use the scientific name when posting and I'm not having much regular success. In replying to a NA query, I sometimes forget there's an international audience. Before my trip to Germany and Wales last summer, I printed out a list to take with me of birds that occurred in both NA and Europe but that had different common names. Thank goodness I did, otherwise I'd've had a rather over-inflated "life list" with things like "goosander," "black-necked grebe," "brent" and "hen harrier." :-)

[robinm]

Hi, Katy. This English name thing always comes up. Mind you not all lists have the same scientific names for the same bird - as I found during GGBC organisation.

I must say when I was new to birding I liked the names horned grebe and eared grebe because I could remember that horns are bigger than ears - stupid isn't it!

[Katy Penland]

Originally Posted by robinm

I must say when I was new to birding I liked the names horned grebe and eared grebe because I could remember that horns are bigger than ears - stupid isn't it!

Ooooo, I hope not 'cause I do it all the time! Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't have admitted that! LOL!

I think word-association is one of the best ways to remember and separate similar-looking spp. On the CA coast, where we see Pacific and common loons (divers :-)) in only winter plumages, which look grossly similar, I associate "common" with another "c" word, "crooked" -- because the white on the neck is far more irregularly shaped than on Pacific.

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Rod,
Two winter-plumaged Horned(a.k.a.Slavonian) Grebes.Obviously,the point made above about 'horns' and 'ears' does not apply in this plumage,when head shape,extent of black on the head,bill shape/colour(Slavonian/Horned has a white tip to the bill,which Black-necked/Eared lacks) are more useful.
Summer plumage Horned has a chestnut foreneck,this area is black on Eared(hence the European name).
In winter,Horned tends to have a whiter foreneck:however,birds moulting into summer plumage can show a darker foreneck while still largely in winter plumage,as with your first bird.
Hope this helps.
Harry