Courtship

After a morning spent in front of a hot keyboard preparing a presentation for tomorrow I made my way down to the nature reserve hoping that I would see the Great Crested Grebe performing their courtship dance.

A pair have built their nest on the island in front of the hide but a bit far away for my lens to get a good image. They worked together improving the nest and then went through their courtship ritual. It was wonderful to see.

I watched them some more diving for fish and then they swam across in front of the hide but much closer. Again they started to display but there were some reeds in front which made photography difficult.

This image, which I have had to crop within an inch of its life, shows them with their necks extended, crests upright and whole lot of head shaking going on.