Greedy Grebes

This week I paid a return visit to a local nature reserve.The weather on the day was wintry,cold with heavy and squally showers.However there was some shelter and the sunny intervals made for some excellent conditions for the camera.It was nice to discover a pair of great crested grebes on the lake and they seemed to have bonded and were prospecting for nesting sites.I was treated to a spectacular weed dance but the grebes were about eighty yards away and so I was only able to capture record shots,one of which is shown above.

The grebes did however spend time fishing and both grebes caught large fish.One of the grebes caught a large perch but had great difficulty in swallowing it and it's partner took the fish and hastily beat a retreat and eventually managed to swallow it.Images of the action are shown above and were one of the highlights of the day.Later another large fish,this time a roach was caught and eaten. More record shots are shown above.

Also present on the lake were a pair of little grebes.I hadn't seen or photographed little grebes for a few years.This was an opportunity to grab some images of these delightful little birds as they patrolled the margins of the lake.Wildfowl were also present and a tufted duck and a goldeneye looked stunning in the sunshine.All in all despite cold conditions it had been a memorable session with the camera and I was delighted with the results.Hope you enjoy my efforts to capture the action and you can be sure I will return for more of the same.Thanks for looking in.