I'm not a world expert on water birds, but after years of walking or cycling around our local lakes and river bank, I know to expect mallards, coots, moorhens, great crested grebes and herons on every trip.
Yesterday and today I spent a lot of time by the water, with binoculars, and I saw all manner of things, but not a singe great crested grebe or heron.
I know they were around a week or two ago, and my books don't tell me that they disappear in the winter. Any idea where they may be?
On the plus side, I saw a lovely pare of goldeneyes today.
Hi
Ours are still around in good numbers, little groups of Great Crested Grebe and we have quite a large Heron colony within 3 miles. They don't usually disappear in Winter.
Of all creatures, man is the most detestable, he is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~ Mark Twain
I know we have a colony of herons a few miles away, but usually I'd have seen three or four on today's walk, and I saw none.
And I was actually looking specifically for GCG today because I saw none yesterday. None at all. Weird.
I'm sure they'll be around somewhere :-) There are at least four herons around here and they aren't seen all the time, usually at least one is spotted but that isn't always the case. With cover increasing as the vegetation starts growing back they could be sitting somewhere watching you look for them!
Millie & Fly the Border Collies
Hi,
GcGs disperse in winter, and many winter at the coast. Herons move about in hard weather finding unfrozen waters.
I noticed a few herons were back at a local heronry this weekend but with so much ice about I wouldnt worry for a while yet, Little grebes also winter at the coast and they don't seem to have moved inland yet although I notice they are beginning to moult into summer plumage now :)
S
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A bit warmer today and I was out and about. I saw a few great crested grebes. Still no herons.
Also, a big surprise: I must have cycled many hundreds of laps of the big lake at the National Watersports Centre over the last few years, so even if I don't know all the names, I recognise most of the species by sight, and today I saw a completely unfamiliar bird up on the mown grass, dibbing its bill into the soft wet mud. I stopped and observed for a bit, then when I got home I checked the book: a redshank.