[Birdtalk] Re: [ucbnet] Water Thrush and Grebe Question

[Mark Stackhouse]

Hi Oliver,

Welcome (back) to birding. The bird in your photograph is a female  
Redwing Blackbird. What you did to jump to the wrong i.d. and think  
that this might be a waterthrush is a common mistake of beginners -  
you focused upon the coloration and markings too much and, especially,  
too quickly. In a rough sense, both the female Redwing Blackbird and  
the Northern Waterthrush have similar markings. However, they are not  
closely related, and have very different overall shapes and much  
different behavior. That's where you should focus you initial  
observations - what shape is the bird, and what is it doing (including  
where is it). That will get you into the right group, in this case  
blackbirds, at which point you can use the markings to differentiate  
between members of that group.

Never trust your impression of size - it's almost impossible to judge  
accurately in the field.

As far as Clark's and Western Grebes goes, there are several "field  
marks" that you can use. First, the Clark's Grebe has a bright orange- 
yellow bill. The western Grebe has a dull, greenish yellow bill. The  
Clark's (in breeding plumage) has more white on the face, with the eye  
being in the white part of the face. Western Grebes have the eye in  
the dark part of the face. Not true 100% of the time, but the flanks  
on  Clark's are usually whiter that on Western. With practice, these  
two can be easily identified.

The best way to improve your birding skills is to go birding, so get  
out there and do it!

Mark Stackhouse



On Jun 2, 2009, at 4:36 PM, oliver hansen wrote:

> Hey everyone, I'm just getting back into bird watching. I've taken a  
> few trips around the Provo Airport Dike and this morning I took a  
> snap-shot of what I think might be a Northern Water Thrush. The  
> picture isn't the best quality, but I think it might be good enough  
> to I.D. it.
>
> Also, what's the best way to differentiate between Northern and  
> Clark Grebes.
>
> Thanks for the help!
>
> Oliver Hansen
> <zoom thrush.jpg>_______________________________________________
> ucbnet mailing list
> ucbnet at utahbirds.org
> http://utahbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/ucbnet