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Tag Archives: Great Crested Grebe

Two dives, two fish

24 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Great Crested Grebe, Great crested grebe with fish

This Great crested grebe was on a roll! As I watched it diving close to the walking trail around Cardiff Bay, it was successful two dives in a row, emerging with squirming small fish clamped firmly in its beak. With a success rate like that, it wouldn’t take long to fill your tummy.

221124 great crested grebe

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The need to breed

02 Wednesday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great Crested Grebe, Great crested grebes mating

After a mild winter, the local birds are already feeling the need to breed, and yesterday’s walk took me past a Mute swan and a Coot both sitting on nests, as well as this pair of Great crested grebes.

220302 great crested grebes (1)

During the time it took me to walk first along one side of the waterway, then back along the other side, the grebes mated twice, so I’m sure they’ll soon be sitting on nests as well.

220302 great crested grebes (2)

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Dancing with weeds

22 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ 6 Comments

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great Crested Grebe, Great crested grebe courtship dance, Great crested grebe courtship display, Great crested grebes dancing with weeds

I consider myself fortunate to have seen the courtship of Great crested grebes many times during my years residing in Britain but last Thursday was the first time I’d seen the part of their display that includes them dancing with weeds in their beaks.

220122 weed dancing (1)

I recognised the noises the birds make as they work up to their display and was lucky enough to be very close by, so quickly got my camera out of my backpack. As I did, both birds reached down under the water’s surface before emerging with long strings of slimy weed in their beaks. Pushing rapidly against the water with their feet helped them raise their bodies almost fully out of the water and their bellies bumped together as they moved their heads from side to side, almost slapping each other with the weed.

220122 weed dancing (2)

After a couple of minutes of this strenuous activity, they subsided back into the water, first one grebe then the other dropping the weed, but they continued with their usual display routine of head shaking and dipping from one side to the other. Several more minutes passed before, presumably satisfied that their pair bond had been sealed, they sailed off to carry on with their day. For me, the experience was magical, birdwatching at its absolute best!

220122 weed dancing (3)

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Humbug

05 Tuesday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Great Crested Grebe, Humbug, juvenile Great crested grebe

It seems late in the season to be seeing a juvenile Great crested grebe that’s still constantly nagging its parent for food and still sporting the head stripes that have earned these birds the nickname ‘Humbug’ (for those unfamiliar with the word, it’s a black-and-white-striped boiled sweet) but there are still a couple in my area.

211005 great crested grebe (1)

I presume these juveniles are the result of second breeding attempts by the adult birds after their first attempts have failed. Their parents may not agree but I think they’re incredibly cute!

211005 great crested grebe (2)

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Love story with a twist

08 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birds nesting in Cardiff Bay, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Great crested grebes mating

Great crested grebes are featuring here twice in one week but I can never resist a good story. When I arrived at Cardiff Bay wetlands yesterday, a pair was in the reeds near the boardwalk.

210408 grebe vs coot (1)

The female was lying flat across the beginnings of a nest platform, making odd groaning noises. Having seen this before, I knew what was going to happen next …

210408 grebe vs coot (2)

And it did. After a few minutes, the male jumped up on top of her and they proceeded to mate.

210408 grebe vs coot (3)

The dismount with grebes would never score well in a gymnastics competition – the male sort of slides off, pushing the female’s head under the water.

210408 grebe vs coot (4)

You could almost hear their after-thoughts: ‘Better get on with the nest building’, and both birds began gathering twigs to place on the nest.

210408 grebe vs coot (5)

But a nearby Coot was having none of it. He didn’t want these noisy characters for neighbours and, faster than the grebes could place twigs on the platform, he was pulling them off again.

210408 grebe vs coot (6)

There was a stand-off, much posturing and squawking, and eventually the male grebe charged the Coot. The grebe thought it had won but the Coot didn’t retreat far. The grebes might keep trying but my money’s on the Coot to win this territorial battle.

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Catch of the day

05 Monday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds, fish

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, British freshwater fish, Great Crested Grebe, grebe eats fish, Perch

It amazes me sometimes how birds manage to swallow the seemingly too large fish they catch. This was one such event, witnessed during a walk around Cardiff Bay on Friday, when I witnessed a Great crested grebe lunching on a Perch. I presume it wouldn’t have required dinner after this feast!

210405 grebe and perch (1)210405 grebe and perch (2)210405 grebe and perch (3)210405 grebe and perch (4)

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210/366 Today along the Ely

28 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Ely embankment, Great Crested Grebe, House martin, Mute swan, Pied wagtail, River Ely

This morning’s wander took me down to Cardiff Bay to walk the path along the embankment of the River Ely, my first walk that way for a while, as there tend to be less interesting birds to see during the summer months and more people to avoid. And so it was, though there is never nothing to see.

200728 4 house martins

200728 1 house martins
200728 2 house martins
200728 3 house martins

House martins were still filling the air with their calls and zipping swiftly back and forth, hunting low over the water then taking insects back to feed their young, which must be second or even third broods now.

200728 5 swan

Large numbers of Coot and Mallard were feeding on the water weed or sitting preening on the water’s edge of the embankment, and several Swan were floating regally past. A couple fell out and were half-heartedly chasing each other.

200728 6 juvenile gcg200728 7 gcg

I saw only three Great crested grebes, a low number for this location. Two were adults and one a well grown juvenile that was snoozing amongst the weed.

200728 8 pied wag

And I saw only two Pied wagtails, which is also a small quantity for the embankment. Their jaunty striding back and forth always makes me grin.

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176/366 Breeding grebes

24 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay wetlands, Great Crested Grebe, Great crested grebe chicks, Humbugs

Monday’s walk was a delight, my first of the new-fangled socially distanced walks with a friend. As well as each other’s good company, we enjoyed a lovely wander around part of Cardiff Bay, including the wetlands reserve. There is always an abundance of Great crested grebes in the waters around the reserve and this day we also spotted two pairs breeding.

200624 great crested grebes (1)

One pair was perhaps making a second attempt, as this is late in the season to begin their breeding cycle. While one bird brooded their single (so far) egg, the other was keeping itself busy gathering extra materials to add to the nest.

200624 great crested grebes (2)

We then noticed another pair of grebes that already had two chicks (birders commonly call them ‘humbugs’ because of their striped colouring) and, while the two little ones sheltered on one adult’s back, the other went fishing for sprats for its offspring. It was wonderful to watch them.

200624 great crested grebes (3)

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38/366 A day of grebes

07 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great Crested Grebe, grebes, little grebe

Grebes were much in evidence today.

200207 great crested grebe (1)

As well as these two Great crested grebes, I saw several other pairs, some displaying and, once, a couple of males engaged in a noisy dispute, over a fine nesting spot perhaps.

200207 great crested grebe (2)

Making a lot of chattering noise as they swam, two Little grebes also seemed to be searching for potential nest sites amongst the reeds. We might be expecting a mighty storm in the next couple of days but the birds are thinking it’s Springtime.

200207 little grebe

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25/366 Grey, but a grebe

25 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Great Crested Grebe

Today’s seven-mile walk was through thick grey drizzle-like mist and, except for the raucous gulls at the edge of Cosmeston’s east lake (where everyone feeds the birds), the land was hushed and still. Not wanting to get my gear wet, I only got my camera out of my backpack once, for a few shots of this handsome Great crested grebe.

200125 great crested grebe (1)200125 great crested grebe (2)200125 great crested grebe (3)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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