Bursting through the room   – Jon screams that we have a new bird!  Nate dashes for the camera and is on the deck before I can stand up from the cozy chair.

Sure enough, it is a bird that we have not yet seen here!  Taking a moment to memorize its features, then we grab Stokes Field Guide to Birds, ran out to the deck and watched as it floated on up to the inlet stream on the north side of the lake.

We find out that it is a Western Grebe because of the black coming below the eye. He dove under the water for quite some time, swam the length of the neighbor’s house, and then popped up.  Very fascinating!Here are the photos that Nate took –

 

If he sticks around, we will have to think up a name. Any Ideas? 

BTW, Does anyone have a favorite Bird Identification Book?