Great Crested Grebe

What an amazing day it has been! Took a trek down to Goolwa, on the Coorong - where the River Murray reaches the sea (for all our blip friends outside Australia who may not be familiar with the Coorong.) Weather was perfect, brilliant sun and no clouds, with a good clear heat.

Not surprisingly we both took many images as it was bird paradise day! We even chatted with the Lock Master when he was about to let a tour boat through the lock. They were letting water through the barrages to lower the river level, and the pelicans and other water birds were lined up having a feeding frenzy.

I then spotted this threatened Great Crested Grebe, a bird that is now becoming quite rare to find in South Australia, as its breeding habitat is reducing (natural freshwater wetlands) through altered drainage, increased salinity, land clearing and grazing.

The Great Crested Grebe is a medium to large aquatic bird, and is the largest of the grebes. It has a long neck and head with a distinctive black double crest. The Great Crested Grebe has dark brown wings, a black crown, dark olive-green feet and, during flight, prominent white patches are visible on its wings.

This grebe has a white face with a red eye, and a black line from the base of the bill to the eye. It is an extremely attractive looking bird which posed perfectly for me.

Bigger crest.

The Great Crested Grebe has been recorded in all Australian states and territories. It is found in coastal Queensland, throughout New South Wales, coastal South Australia, coastal and south-west Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. This species is distributed thoughout Europe, Africa and Asia to Australasia, but not New Guinea.

Favouring large deep open bodies of freshwater, the Great Crested Grebe is most commonly found inhabiting rivers, lagoons, lakes, swamps, reservoirs and estuaries.

The Great Crested Grebe feeds on fish, caught by diving in clear water. When diving underwater, this grebe is propelled by its feet alone.
PS. This is SOOC, just cropped.