My first rarity

I definitely would not consider myself a good birder but I do get by and can recognize a fair number of species without field guides, HOWEVER, this morning I was stumped completely.

There was a western grebe offshore of south point in Rondeau Provincial Park. Many second glances later I was convinced that it could not be anything else but confused since this bird has never been reported in Chatham-Kent county before.

Western Grebe at Rondeau Provincial Park (Photo courtesy of Allen Woodliffe)

Being that I have never identified a rare bird by myself and that I am very cautious about misidentifying things I was texting my birding friends like mad! With this wonderful advance in technology I was able to get confirmation from iphone to binocular photos that what I was seeing is IN FACT a very lost western grebe. With this I could confidently say that I got my first rare bird in Ontario that other birders would flock to see.

For the next few days this gorgeous and elegant bird stayed at the point. It hunted, groomed itself and all around just floated around looking pretty until Friday when boat traffic drove it away from Rondeau.

Western Grebe at Rondeau Provincial Park (Photo courtesy of Allen Woodliffe)

Thankfully this gave other birders the chance to confirm my sighting and get much better photos than I managed through my binoculars.

Western Grebe at Rondeau Provincial Park (Photo courtesy of Allen Woodliffe)