While in the visitor centre the other day I couldn’t help but marvel at how pretty great crested grebes are. Their great head plumes make them look like they’ve got attitude, the ‘punks’ of the bird world in my opinion.
We see these elegant waterbirds regularly here at Frampton Marsh and most of the time can be viewed from the Visitor Centre. They have an elaborate courtship display where they rise out of the water and shake their heads. When they’re very young, the chicks are sometimes carried on the backs of their parents.
Great crested grebe- Neil Smith
Once hunted for their beautiful feathers during the Victorian period, these birds were almost made extinct in the UK. Numbers have since greatly increased thanks to excellent conservation measures and now great crested grebes are resident across much of the country.