Great Crested Grebes of Canada Water (June 2016)

This is a story about a family of great crested grebes, one of my favourite birds, that I originally wrote in June 2016.

I noticed two great crested grebes had built a nest on Canada Water in south east London. The photo below is from 7th May, where the parents were swapping nest sitting duty and the eggs were visible.

7th May

I was excited because I'd not seen this much detail of a great crested grebe nest before. It wasn't close to the edge of the water, but it was easy to see with my cameras.

Great crested grebes are beautiful birds. They dive to catch fish and can swim a long way underwater before resurfacing. They're also quite shy.

Back in March, I saw a family of great crested grebes near Canada Water, at Greenland Dock. Here's a photo of one of the parents trying to feed a fish to its two youngsters. As you can see, the young ones have stripy black and white necks.

Adult great crested grebe with fish

These young grebes looked to be already a week or two old though. I was looking forward to the ones on that nest hatching, where I could see them. There were also some swans nesting and I first saw their cygnets on 24th May, while the grebes were still sitting on their nest.

Cygnets, 24th May

Grebes nest-sitting, 24th May

On Saturday, 4th June, I returned to Canada Water. Immediately I noticed that a coot was now sitting on the nest the grebes had been sitting on. I could see the grebes out in the open water but I couldn't see any young with them. I was disappointed and sad, that all their hard work hadn't paid off and something had gone wrong. I took some photos of them anyway, but they were quite far away so I couldn't see them very clearly.

On the Monday, I looked at my photos from Saturday on my laptop and noticed something I hadn't spotted at the time. Look closely at the grebe on the left in the photo below.

I was too far away to spot the chicks, but thanks to the magic of the camera, I was able to see that they had successfully bred, which made me happier than you can probably imagine. It is quite common for great crested grebes to carry their chicks around on their backs. It must keep them very safe, although it would prevent that parent from diving for food with them on board.

Great crested grebes showing off their catches

One of my favourite birds is the great crested grebe. They were popular in Victorian times, but sadly only for their feathers - they were almost wiped out in the UK by hunting. Fortunately, since they've been protected they've thrived. In London, the former docks provide excellent habitats for them, and they can also be seen on other suitably deep lakes in parks. 

I always think of mallards as being all-rounders - equally clumsy on land, dabbling in the water and when taking off. Great crested grebes are champion underwater swimmers, perfectly streamlined. They dive under the water without warning and disappear for quite some time before reappearing in a totally different place, often empty-beaked but sometimes clutching a prize (see below photos). They're perhaps known for their elaborate courting ritual, a synchronised aquatic dance. Sadly I don't have any photos of this but there are videos on YouTube.

Great crested grebes are rarely seen on land and look extremely awkward trying to walk.

Below are several photos I've taken recently of great crested grebes that have successfully caught different prey. This is an interesting way to get a glimpse of what fish and other creatures live below the water's surface. 

Great crested grebe with a fish, Canary Wharf, July 2019

Great crested grebe with what looks like a small eel, Greenland Dock, July 2019

This great crested grebe had caught some kind of crustacean
South Norwood Lake, June 2019

I'll be writing much more about these beautiful birds and their stripy chicks in future posts.