A Black-necked Grebe at Rainham Marshes

16th April 2018

An early Spring visit to Rainham to see if there were any early migrants, but particularly because of the long-staying Black-necked Grebe. But before that a quick call in to the Stone Barges to see if there was any sign of the three Iceland Gulls that had been reported the day before. Sadly, no sign of them, but there was a pair of Shelducks quite close on the mud, which obviously weren't too concerned quite how dirty they got.

In the Ken Barrett Hide a male Shoveler was putting the final touches to it plumage before embarking on a rather boisterous flying courtship/ownership dispute with a another male and female Shoveler. At one point the female was performing some fairly risky manoeuvres to ecape the attentions of the males.

But now back to the business at hand. It had been my intention to spend a few minutes on the viewing platforms overlooking Aveley Pool before completing my anti-clockwise circuit and having a look along the river wall. However, the best laid plans do sometimes go out of the window,

When I arrived at the first platform the grebe was right on the far side and therefore impossible to photograph. It then started to move down the western side of the pool getting closer all the time and, to cut a long story short, I spent the next three hours photographing the grebe as it became closer and appeared in a variety of lighting conditions.

What a fantastic way to spend a day!!!!