Which grebe bobs its head? (1 Viewer)

2 days ago at a lodge at the Denali Highway I saw a baby grebe on a lake nearby, it was light gray on the flanks, and medium gray on the back. Its head was relatively small, so the rare Pied-billed Grebe doesn't seem to fit. Its neck was thick and stout, and at this time of year the extremely common Red-necked Grebe has a long and red neck, as well as a long yellow bill. The bird I saw had a stubbier black bill. Most distinctive was that it scooted across the water and bobbed its head and would dive often. I'm really thinking it was a Horned Grebe, which would be a fantastic lifer. So which Grebe exibits the behavior described?

Sounds rather like a juvenile coot, although I don't know if American Coot ranges into Alaska...

Coots are typically seen in AK in the fall, although this was a grebe, it had stripes on its head. Its behavior was rather coot like.

It sounds a bit like a young American Coot to me, too, but all the range maps I looked at did not show Coot as regular in Alaska. Also, young American Coots still have a fairly pale bill, unlike the "black bill" described in the original post.

stevethehydra said:

Sounds rather like a juvenile coot, although I don't know if American Coot ranges into Alaska...

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No Coots in Alaska (other than the extreme southeast). Pretty safe to say it's a grebe, with Red-necked and Horned being the only options there (no Pied-billed or Eared in Alaska, either). I'd not like to say which of the two, though!