Hello, I am back on line after a gap of two weeks hence this late report.....However last week on 17th January I was walking around Clowbridge reservoir when I saw a pair of Great crested grebes performing the mirror image ritual, both birds copied each others actions and the male spent a lot of time presenting the female with some water weed which it eventually accepted. It was marvellous to see this at such a short distance but it occurred to me that it is very early in the year for this behaviour....has anybody any had any similar sightings?
I was waiting for one of the Clowbridge regulars to respond, but presumably no one else has seen the grebes displaying there.
It's not something I've seen a lot in the wild, but it is an amazing thing to see. As for being early - I don't know in regard to grebes, but Mallard etc are regularly displaying when seen on winter wildfowl counts. They pair up quite early, though I don't know whether mating takes place so early.
