Grebe ducks do not have Mandarines breath-taking picturesque outlook, but they are awesome too. They have a long flexible neck and funny 'shaggy wig' on their head, these elements especially impress when are observed 'in action'.
Why 'take two'? Back in 2019 I found their nest hidden in the reeds in my local park, and had a small photo-session. I had a 150mm macro lens with me, it was almost evening, i.e. lighting was not that great, the reeds around have grown and were hiding the nest pretty well; so, my results were not fascinating at all. This is how it looked like:
This year they came back to make the nest at the same spot -- and it happened much earlier, as the winter was nor cold, either snowy. By the end of April my friends confirmed the Grebe's nest already there. I grabbed my camera and in the 1st week of May my 'take 2' happened. This time I borrowed my 70-300mm lens, and choosed a sunny day, so I had a full lighting. And, happily, the reeds did not grow yet to hide the place all over, so it became an easy game.
As you can see on the 1st pictures, the nest is located very close to the shore -- so I could come up pretty close, and at this 1,5m distance my 300mm tele worked like it was a 500mm at some long range. Nice!
Some good-hearted folks have marked the spot with two noticeable police-do-not-cross-the-line barriers, to protect the area from massive crowd-stomping. But I did an exception for myself. Otherwise, I could be getting a landscape pictures only, like this:
But enough of the prologue. Lets go straight to the pictures!
Note her red eye! She's a real terminator in the pictures.
Oh, she had also a funny voice... I would compare it to a quiet train whistle, muffled, toy children's model.
When I came closer I shoot the duck sitting on the nest, after short period of time she decided to show me the eggs and did a little walk off and walk-around, and I had a chance to shoot the eggs and both of the parents floating around. When she lifted off her body from the nest, it looked like all of her body is a very big egg. Ofc it was only a appearances, but again, very funny one!
After 3-4 mins she returned to the eggs and presented me some really splendid captures of water dews sinking off her breast... and the captures of her long curvy neck - simply amazing! During this moments I wished my camera could do the video, too. But I dont have that option.
What may seem a damage or crack of the egg, in fact, is just a sticky blade of grass, litter - the eggs are in perfect order! I give a cropped image for you to be sure. And I didnt come any closer for this capture.
She showed me her tongue!
| location: | St.Petersburg, Russia | date: may 2020 | --- |
| camera/lens: | Canon 5D | +70-300mm | raw-conv |
| f6.3 | t 1/800 | ISO 400 | -- |
All of the images copyright by me. hi-res files available for purchase.
I captured about 140 frames, so, part 2 will follow!
Now the last, but not the least: this certain specie is named Great Crested Grebe duck. They are very pleasurable to look at, and except of the outlook, they have an amazing marriage dance. (Maybe I will be lucky to shoot it one day). When motherduck is sitting on the nest, she constantly turns her head left and right, like a pendulum of a grandfather clock - she is in a nonstop control of perimeter; such a memorable sight! Their wide back was a great spot for the dews to drop down, but also it is known as a place where the motherduck transport its little ducklings (I hope to capture it later, as well). Too many amazing things to admire here. Thats why I nominate my post for AmazingNature challenge by @adalger.
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Quite an exotic looking bird. I like the squawking photos. You'll have to see if you can get a shot of them with the babies on their back. I once had the chance to rescue a western grebe out of the middle of a highway (they can only take off from water and it thought the highway was a river and landed but wasn't able to take off again. So I moved it to a lake nearby (note they are mean and bite pretty hard).
I could predict that by their red eyes and beak!
you are a kind person, full of many rare qualities...
Nahh I just like catching critters whenever I can lol.
You are the only person I know who has been bitten by a grebe, @sketch.and.jam! ❤️
Fortunately it only bit and didn't spear my hand. I had to get work gloves out to pick him up and put him in a dog crate we luckily had in the back of the truck.
Thank goodness you were there! ❤️
Whoa, I always thought that ducks have that unique beak, but theese's seem different.
All in all a very beautiful birds :)
aha! there are several Grebe species, this is an only one.
I'm so impressed by their red eyes and long pointy beak !
merci!
Very cool.
grazie mille, my friend :=)
part two will follow -- with a bit more close-up portraits, I think
Great photos! But for me it is very difficult to photograph the birds, they are too fast for me)
depends on the gear used. some folks here have 500 and 600mm telephoto -- can you imagine that?!
The fact is that I try to photograph pheasants, but they absolutely do not sit still ...
верю!! знаешь как выглядит мой сеанс фото охоты на синиц?
Догадываюсь)
эти бестии подлетают к кормушке на 1 (!) секунда, хватают в клюв зерно и сразу же улетают. не когда фокусироваться, и дублей никаких тоже не.фокусируешься заранее, и в момент прилета, есть время сделать 1-2 кадра наугад. всё! а потом молиться, чтобы 3-4 чего то хорошего из этого вышло....
Я думаю так происходит со всеми мелкими птицами, поэтому даже не пытаюсь их фотографировать)
Единственная надежда на гнезда с птенцами, так как весна и в лесу, в траве можно наткнутся на несколько за поход)
подозреваю, что с фазанами та же фигня?...
Они издали чуют подвох, и начинают метаться из стороны в сторону, а так как я постоянно гуляю с собакой, для меня это вообще затруднительно... Сейчас спасают только грибы, они то никуда не денутся)))
Breathtaking pictures! Thanks for sharing.
o-o! thank you very much -- such a sweet compliment. there would be later a little part 2.
This is a wonderful sequence of photos! And that is such a beautiful duck! I hope she has a successful hatch!
!tip
!BEER
!BEER
this is the key question. frankly speaking, I am worried. last time I came there few days ago - there were two more new nests, and that one was empty! and I noticed two grebe ducks (probably the same ones) -- without any ducklings.... and no traces of eggs... :/ idk what it means... but probably nothing good... or maybe I didnt noticed something, maybe they were well-hiding.. idk.
Those eggs and then the ducklings face a lot of dangers I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for her! ❤️
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What amazing photography of the bird, eggs and water dripping off her plumage.
I will have to look through my photographs we do have a Little Grebe but for the life of me cannot remember if I photographed one with them being in the middle of a pond.
There are two others located in Southern Africa, the Great Crested Grebe and Eared Grebe, will be on the lookout for these when inland again.
we have only one specie here (this), and I havent seen others at all...
I will post later more close-ups with the most funny part of the plumage: feathers on the head!