After a long morning sitting in front of a computer, I got out of the office for a short lunch break by the Barwon River. Fortuitously, a solo
Hoary-headed Grebe was fishing close to shore and despite being obviously aware of my presence, hung around while I took a few shots. From a distance, Hoary-headed Grebes are difficult to distinguish from Australasian Grebes in winter or non-breeding plumage (they are quite distinct in breeding plumage). The key distinguishing features if you can get close enough are:
- the Hoary-headed Grebe has a white ring around the pupil in the eye; the Australasian Grebe has a yellow eye
- the line between the darker facial/crown feathers and lighter throat/neck feathers on the Hoary-headed Grebe runs below the eye; on the Australasian Grebe it runs through the eye.
The Australasian Grebe is also less likely to be found in estuarine or salt water, preferring fresh water habitats.
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| Hoary-headed Grebe, Barwon River Estuary, Barwon Heads |
Gee I reckon I might have been looking at Hoary headed grebes all these years thinking they were Little Grebes. It looks hard to tell from this pic. Do they swim in rivers?
ReplyDeleteHi Bernie
DeleteYes, Hoary-headed Grebes can be seen in both freshwater and the sea/estuaries. Out of breeding plumage they are challenging to distinguish from the Australasian Grebe but can be separated by eye colour: HHG the eye is white, AG eye is yellow.
Cheers, Ian