A Report by Paul Bartho

Over the past month a pair of Little Grebes have been nesting at Le Domaine, Hillcrest. After numerous attempts in trying to establish a nest they eventually found their perfect spot – a floating nest loosely attached to an overhanging reed.

They sat on this floating nest for about 3 weeks and we tried hard to see if they were on eggs.

Then viola, three tiny Little Grebes emerged.

At this point the nest broke loose and floated away. A fourth egg was seen in it and thought abandoned

but surprisingly after a full day unattended it too hatched.

At first it was hard to see the young as they hid under one parent or the other’s wings. Now they are no longer little Little Grebes as they get bigger and more visible every day.

We had a surprise in one of the photos that Frank Kihn took. He took a shot of one of the Little Little Grebes taking its first swim. When he got home he was hugely surprised with what he saw – see for yourself.

That was several days ago and still all four are seen regularly attempting to stay under cover of the wings!.

Photos courtesy of Frank Kihn and Paul Bartho.