Red-necked Grebe, Lake Hartwell, South Carolina, January 19, 2023

On the evening of January 17 my birding friend Bill Hooker e-mailed me this photo of a bird he and Vicky Burke had seen earlier in the day at the Oconee Campground on Lake Hartwell in SC.  He was asking me to confirm the ID as a rare Red-necked Grebe. 

I responded right away - it was indeed a Red-necked Grebe.  A great find this far south, especially inland!

That was definitely one to chase after, but would it stick around?  As with any rarity, it was certainly possible that it was just passing through and had already moved on.  But in this case, even if it was still around, visibility and distance to the bird could make for a difficult identification.  Lake Hartwell is a very large man-made lake, and despite having many viewing points, there are still large portions not visible from a nearby public vantage point.  Given all those challenges, I decided to wait for other birders’ posts before committing to the 90-minute one-way drive.  

On the morning of the 18th there were negative reports from 2 different birders, so I figured the Grebe had moved on.  However, both birders commented that visibility wasn’t the best in the morning fog, so maybe there was still hope.  And sure enough, later that day came reports from those same birders that they had re-found the Grebe.  Although Bill and Vicky had the bird not too far out north of the Oconee Campground, sightings on the 18th were east of the campground, and likely farther away.  Although it sounded like the ID was challenging at that distance, I was willing to give it a try on the 19th.

The morning of the 19th was rainy, but forecasts showed the rain would stop midday.  Unfortunately, the winds would pick up soon thereafter with the passage of a cold front.  So it sounded like I had a small window of dry and calm weather where viewing would be best.  Now I just had to time it right.  It was still raining at the house when I left at noon, but the rain stopped about halfway there.  So far so good.  And when I arrived at the Oconee Campground there was just a light breeze and no fog.  Nearly perfect conditions.  Now I just needed the bird to cooperate.

I first checked the area off to the north where it was found on the 17th.  There were 3 Horned Grebes not too far off, but little else.  If only my target Red-necked Grebe was associating with them...  Then I walked to the eastern end of the campground peninsula and started to scan off to the east where it was seen on the 18th.  In the nearshore waters there was a flock of Canada Geese, some Cormorants, and a pair of Lesser Scaup in, but no Grebes of any variety.  Then I started scanning the water farther east and picked up a large flock of distant Bonaparte’s Gulls near the far shore.  If my target Grebe was that far away I doubt I would even spot it let alone be able to confirm the ID.  I was beginning to question the likelihood of a successful search.

I changed my angle a bit and did a quick binocular scan toward the east.  Amazingly I very quickly spotted a bird on the water about midway across the lake.  My first impression was that it was a brown Grebe, and certainly not the black-and-white look of a Horned Grebe.  And in the general area where the Red-necked was seen yesterday.  I wasn’t jumping to any conclusions just yet but I was getting hopeful.  I quickly put it in the scope, and although it was pretty far away, I could tell I had my target Red-necked Grebe – its neck was longer than Pied-billed or Horned, was brown-bodied, with a throat paler than the body, and in profile I could see a large yellow bill.  I’m glad I spotted it when I did because the wind was starting to pick up and the rougher waters were making the viewing more difficult.  

All things considered that was a very satisfying chase, and #296 for my SC statelist.  Made the drive home more tolerable.

My statebird map for Red-necked Grebe is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The 4 cross-hatched states are those in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it.  The brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity – several southern Atlantic states as a wintering bird, and 2 central states as a rare breeder.