The great crested grebe is a striking water bird. Not large like the swans and geese and not gaudily coloured like the shelduck or shoveller. Rather, this bird is subtly, but beautifully coloured, elegantly pointed in the manner of a fighter jet, and with a "head-dress" matched by only the wading ruff. Then there is its spring courtship routine that involves diving together, hiding, passing weed from bill to bill, and facing each other with bills touching, making a "heart" shape between their bodies. The photograph above is the best I got of pair giving each other their undivided attention at Far Ings National Nature Reserve (NNR), Barton upon Humber, in Lincolnshire.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Nikon P900
