Red-throated Loon & Red-necked Grebes -- Emmet County

[Kenyon Stebbins]

Today (Nov. 21) at noon I saw a Red-throated Loon one mile east of Harbor
Springs, on Little Traverse Bay, maybe 100 yards out from shore.  I used a
spotting scope, but it was easily identified with my 10X binoculars.   It
was an adult in non-breeding plumage.

I  also saw 2 Red-necked Grebes at almost the same spot as the loon.  The
two grebes stayed within 5 feet of each other.  One was a first-winter bird,
and the other was an immature, still showing considerable "stripes" on the
cheeks.  I noticed that one grebe dove quite frequently, while the other one
(the first-winter bird) never dove during the 10 minutes I watched it.  The
non-diver seemed to be injured, as it was holding/dragging one leg/foot on
the water's surface.  That leg/foot seemed almost useless, but even with the
scope I could not see what might be causing this behavior.

 Sally Stebbins
Harbor Springs MI
tel. 231-526-1222
stebbins at chartermi.net