LITTLE GREBE
This little beauty is the smallest European grebe and is extremely camera shy. The little grebe or dabchick (as it is also known), is 230 to 290mm long. Both sexes have the same plumage. In the Summer, they are dark above, with a rich, rufous colour neck, cheeks and sides. Behind the bill, where they join, is bright yellow. The rufous colouration turns dirty brownish grey in the Winter which is standard on juveniles. The young also have yellow bills, compared to the dark bills of the adults. In Winter, another identification feature, is the white, powder puff bum.
Little grebes are excellent swimmers and divers, pursuing fish and aquatic invertebrate prey. They like to use vegetation at the water's edge for nesting as well as hiding. A grebe's legs are set very far back on the body, so they have problems walking on land. Between 4 to 7 eggs are laid in the nest. When an adult leaves the nest, they cover it with weeds to hide it from predators. The young leave the nest and can swim soon after hatching. The chicks are often carried on the backs of the swimming adults.
