Update on Roanoke's first Eared Grebe

[mikel...@aol.com]

On April 20, 2009 an Eared Grebe was discovered by Kent Davis and Mike Smith at Roanoke's sewage treatment plant and was posted on the VA-BIRDS and Roanoke Birds listservs. This was the first documented record of this species in the Roanoke Valley. The grebe was observed by several birders and was photographed. A couple of days later a staff member from the plant ventured out from his office to have a look at the bird causing so much excitement. He found the grebe with it's left foot in the jaws of a snapping turtle. Members of the plant's crew rescued it from the turtle and it was placed in the goldfish pond located in front of the main office, where it remained for a few days until a local rehabber picked it up after it was determined that the grebe had a serious injury to it's left foot. At some point the rehabber shipped it by air to a rehab facility in Delaware by the name of Tristate. Two digits on the left foot had to be amputated, and the foot "healed nicely". The grebe was able to dive and fly and was successfully released at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware on May 30, 2009, at a location where several Eared Grebes had been seen shortly before it's release.

 

Mike Purdy

Roanoke, VA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mikel...@aol.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: David Wendelken <wend...@gmail.com>
To: mikel...@aol.com
Cc: roanok...@googlegroups.com; Va-...@listserve.com; Jsp...@augustamed.com; lar...@ntelos.net; mdon...@fs.fed.us
Sent: Fri, Sep 25, 2009 7:26 am
Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Update on Roanoke's first Eared Grebe

By coincidence, Greg Moyers and I were at Cape Henlopen on May 30, and got to see the grebe being released. You can see two photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendeldh/3953153242/

Dave Wendelken
Harrisonburg, Virginia

On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 2:50 AM, <mikel...@aol.com> wrote:

On April 20, 2009 an Eared Grebe was discovered by Kent Davis and Mike Smith at Roanoke's sewage treatment plant and was posted on the VA-BIRDS and Roanoke Birds listservs. This was the first documented record of this species in the Roanoke Valley. The grebe was observed by several birders and was photographed. A couple of days later a staff member from the plant ventured out from his office to have a look at the bird causing so much excitement. He found the grebe with it's left foot in the jaws of a snapping turtle. Members of the plant's crew rescued it from the turtle and it was placed in the goldfish pond located in front of the main office, where it remained for a few days until a local rehabber picked it up after it was determined that the grebe had a serious injury to it's left foot. At some point the rehabber shipped it by air to a rehab facility in Delaware by the name of Tristate. Two digits on the left foot had to be amputate d, and the foot "healed nicely". The grebe was able to dive and fly and was successfully released at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware on May 30, 2009, at a location where several Eared Grebes had been seen shortly before it's release.

 

Mike Purdy

Roanoke, VA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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