Grebe ID [ID'd - GCGrebe, Winter plumage]

Nightforce 65X55 · 18-12-2015 8:14pm #1

Hi all , I got these photos of a Grebe today , at first I thought it might be a black necked grebe but the colors dont look right , then I thought it might be a juvenile crested grebe but not sure, in one of the photos you can see the horn like crests but there are no tufts on the cheeks ? It was larger than the usual Little grebe but my memory of the great crested grebe is that it is quite big, at least 10 to 12 inches , water to head, this one today is about 6 to 8 inches .
Sorry the images are a bit grainey but he was a long way out .

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 18-12-2015 8:42pm

Great crested in Winter plumage

Nightforce 65X55 · 18-12-2015 8:50pm

Thanks sareem , this grebe was only about 6 or 8 inches from the water to his head , is that not a bit small for a great crested grebe ? Also I have never seen them in this area before , do they migrate in winter ?

Desmo · 21-12-2015 1:33pm

That is indeed a GC Grebe as Srameen said. Size can be hard to guess at a distance or in funny light. They do indeed appear in Winter in areas outside of their breeding grounds. For example, Dublin bay gets lots of them right now, even though the nearest breeding areas are all inland.

Grebe ID [ID'd - GCGrebe, Winter plumage]

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