Great Crested Grebe, Stanley Park

Back on 18 April I was in a wet and windy Stanley Park, Blackpool and walking the lake, spotted the Great Crested Grebe sat on a nest and decided it might be sensible to return sometime. Great Crested Grebe is on the 'must do list' and perhaps next year I will make more effort to catch them in their mating antics – we'll see.

Anyhoo, finding myself in Blackpool and a spare hour I decided a waltz around Stanley Park lake to see the Great Crested Grebes was in order. Needless to say I wandered up to the 'nature reserve' at the 'hospital end' of the lake to no avail – too many visitors. So a wander back and 'shiver me timbers' a juvenile was in amongst the frenzy of birds down by the ice-cream parlour where they ducks and gulls get fed (along with 8 cygnets and the Black Swan). And then there was an adult grebe.

I spent the next hour or so in changing light conditions, watching them dive for fish and the adult quite successful, whereupon it would feed its catch to the youngster. A couple of times the juvenile dropped the fish and the adult had to catch it again before they drifted off to the other side of the lake and out of camera distance. All image are of one juvenile and one adult – the light responsible for any change in appearance.

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