Travelling tomorrow so there won’t be a post then but to follow up on Little Grebe the other day, here is the Great Crested Grebe for today. This beautiful bird was nearly made extinct in the 19th century in the UK due to it’s beauty and unique feathers. The gorgeous head feathers were collected for decorating hats etc and the dense, water-proof chest feathers led it to be killed and skinned in large numbers to provide “Grebe-fur”, a cheap, imitation fur used in fashion for muffs etc. It wasn’t really until the
20th century that numbers climbed again from an estimated 50 breeding pairs at its lowest point. The Great Crested Grebe has legs well back on its body, making walking on land difficult, and it prefers to dive and swim long distances underwater, to escape predation, to flying away. It feeds entirely in water on small fish and invertebrates, and will gather in large numbers on inland water or by the coast in winter. Conditions: A cool day with a cold breeze and some sunny intervals. Temperature: Max 6- Min 0 C.