Have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year
I recently photographed this Australasian Grebe on a small farm dam. These grebes have made a slow and sustained increase in numbers over the last 30 or so years, thanks largely to the increase in water storages on many farms in the east and south-east of Tasmania. Unlike their near relatives, the Hoary-headed Grebe, which are usually found on large bodies of water and in flocks sometimes numbering in the hundreds, this grebe is more likely to be met with in pairs or small groups on small water storages--the largest group I've seen in Tasmania totalled only 5.
Season's greetings to you, too!
ReplyDeleteI have a soft spot for Australasian grebes, having spent many hours trying to get a photograph of one that included more than a little fluffy backside disappearing underwater or the ripples where the bird had been a millisecond before.
Hi Snail,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how that goes! This is only the second time I've managed to get close enough to photograph them, and the first in breeding plumage. I hadn't noticed the beautiful red neck markings before either.
Hope you have a gret Christmas, too, Alan. We're off to Darwin and the Top End for some birding just after Christmas - subject to brewing Cyclones!!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
John Tongue
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteMuch envy over your trip, which sounds just great--not sure of your timing though! Keep safe.