By Tony Gazso, Interpretive Naturalist

If you’ve been reading recent posts, you know we just wrapped up a three-part series on winter waterfowl. In that series, we talked about many of the ducks and geese that can be found in our area in the fall and winter. But some of you may be curious about all of those birds you see out on the waters that aren't ducks (like loons or grebes). So I thought I would add part four to the series and highlight some of those waterfowl that aren’t actually ducks or geese. If you missed the other installments, don’t forget to go back and check those out. Like most of the ducks and geese we discussed previously, many of these birds are more common in our area in winter, but some can be spotted year-round.
 
Common loon: The second largest member of the loon family, the common loon is famous for appearing on the Canadian dollar (appropriately dubbed a "loonie"), but they are also frequent visitors to Lake Erie in winter. Sitting low in the water, common loons are expert divers. In fact, unlike most birds who have hollow bones, loons have solid bones making them heavy and less buoyant. This aids in their underwater swimming abilities, but the trade-off is they need long "runways" in order to get up enough speed to take off, which is why you almost never see them on small ponds. Their black and white "checkerboard" plumage is unmistakable, but don't expect to see them in this plumage in winter. Instead, they wear a drabber gray and white outfit. Loons use their sharp, spear-like bills to catch fish, and in Lake Erie, perch are a favorite.

Common loon

Red-throated loon: The smaller and less common cousin to the common loon is the red-throated loon. Like the common loon, the red-throated loon sports drab gray and white plumage in winter, so don't expect to see their trademark rusty throat patch. Their winter plumage is very similar to the common loon. Size is a good way to tell them apart, but is difficult if the bird is alone. Instead, look at the bill. The red-throated loon's bill is smaller and thinner than the common, and they almost always hold it slightly pointing up. Red-throated loons typically stick to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, making the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River the only places to find them inland in the U.S..

Red-throated loon

Pied-billed grebe: Grebes are funny birds. Looking like a weird cross between a duck and a heron, there are numerous species in North America, but only two that are frequently seen in northeast Ohio. The pied-billed grebe can be seen year-round. They are the size of a small duck, brown, and have short gray and black bills. Despite swimming on top of water like duck, and being expert underwater swimmers, grebes do not have webbed feet. Instead, their toes are lobed. Their feet are located near the back of their bodies, helping their swimming, but making them very clumsy on land. They aren't strong fliers either. Pied-billed grebes tend to stay in smaller ponds and lakes. They can be seen throughout our area and in many of our parks.

Pied-billed grebe

Horned grebe: The slightly larger horned grebe is common on Lake Erie and other larger ponds and lakes inland. In winter, they're a dark gray and white, while in summer they become a beautiful warm brown and black, and have golden tufts, or "horns" extending from their bright red eyes. Like other grebes, the horned grebe ingests a lot of its own feathers, even feeding those feathers to their offspring. It's believed that the ingested feathers create a "plug" in the stomach to keep harder prey items like bones from passing into the intestines. Sometimes pellets (similar to those produces by owls) are then regurgitated.

Horned grebe

Double-crested cormorant: The most common non-duck waterfowl in our area, the double-crested cormorant can be seen on Lake Erie, sometimes in flocks of hundreds of birds. These dark birds have long, snake-like necks, bright yellow-orange at the base of their bill, and jewel-like turquoise eyes. While the loon features solid bones to make swimming underwater easier, cormorants produce much less waterproofing oil, making them less buoyant, and allowing them to stay underwater more easily. However, this can soak their feathers to the point where it's difficult to fly, which is why they are often seen standing out of the water with their wings spread to dry out. Cormorants will eat about anything they can swallow whole, which includes fish much larger than you'd think possible.

Double-crested cormorant

American coot: Our last two birds look very similar to each other, and are actually in the rail family. Like the grebes, coots and gallinules do not have webbed feet. Their wide lobed toes not only aid them in swimming underwater, but also for walking on soft muddy ground. Coots are black with a white bill and can be seen on nearly any lake or pond in the area, usually swimming out in the open near ducks. They have a distinctive silhouette, looking kind of like a swimming chicken. Although they will eat crustaceans, snails and other invertebrates, their primary food is aquatic vegetation.

American coot

Common gallinule: A slightly more colorful version of the American coot, common gallinules are harder to spot than their cousins. While the coot is seen in open waters, the common gallinule likes to stick to marshes and hide in tall weeds like cattails. The common gallinule has a black head, brown back end, and bright red bill. Though coots are more common in our area in the winter months, gallinules breed in the region, and are only seen in spring and summer.

Common gallinule

I hope you enjoyed this look at some of the more common non-duck waterfowl found in our area. Remember, winter is a great time to bird for waterfowl, as long as there's open water. So venture out this winter and scan those ponds and lakes. You might be surprised at the amount of diversity you see swimming around out there!