A Great Northern Diver at Grafham Water

9th December 2021

It was back on the 29th December 2016 that I last visited Grafham Water to photograph not one but two Great Northern Divers. On this occasion they were keeping close to the tower by the dam so a bit distant for some decent shots. This winter another Great Northern has been seen around the dam area so time for another visit.

As I walked along the dam in somewhat gloomy conditions a rather smart Grey Wagtail was strutting its stuff along the dam wall. What a great first bird to brighten up a rather dull day.

There was also a large flock of Tufties fairly close in until they were disturbed by a fisherman's boat moving across the reservoir. This did, however, provide a few opportunities for some flight shots.

There were also a few male Goldeneyes associating with the Tufties and on a couple of occasions came close enough for some shots on a brightening day.

Not much feeding going on, but there is always time for a preen.

So now to look for the diver. After a few scans with the bins the diver was obviously getting impatient and helped by waving at me from the middle of the reservoir. It also seemed to be doing quite well at fishing. Unfortunately, this was all at a range of a few hundred yards.

I was distracted for a while by the close in Goldeneye and when I looked back there was no sign of the diver out on the reservoir because it was now just 30 yards away!! What a magnificent bird.

It seemed quite unperturbed by my presence and acted a lot of the time as if it was on a photo-shoot, posing this way and that way.

What an absolute brute!!!