More Fun with Grebes - Cue Dabchick Action!

11th December 2012

My second morning with the grebes also dawned bright and clear, but rather cold. Most of the surface of the pond at Dawlish Warren was covered by ice, leaving a strip of clear water about a metre wide along the northern edge. This was lucky for me as the black-necked grebe was confined to diving in this area, so I just had to wait as it worked its way towards me, although it couldn't come quite as close as the previous day. By the time it was in position the sunlight was slightly diffused by a thin veil of cloud, which was ideal for the showing the texture of its feathers. As previously I had my 500mm lens and converter on my monopod and I composed my shots to include all the bird's reflection, but I had set up my camera with a single focus point above the centre of the frame to hold focus on that fiery red eye.

The ice also constrained two of the dabchicks (little grebes) that I had only seen at a distance before. As my photos show they have similar proportions to the black-necked grebe although they are slightly smaller. Both species have wonderfully fluffy plumage when they take a rest from diving.

I love the old name of dabchick, because there is something rather like a day-old chick about the feathering and proportions of this bird, which is emphasised by their pale winter plumage. As it happened the one that came closest to me was more or less in breeding plumage. I was delighted because dabchicks can be quite elusive although they are common (unlike the black neck).

I knew I was really in luck when this dabchick came to the surface near me with a long pink object wriggling in its beak. I thought was that it was an earthworm for a moment, but I realised that was a silly idea - anyway I had to shoot first and ask questions afterwards. The grebe had quite a struggle and gave its meal a good shaking, which attracted the attention of its companion (perhaps its mate or offspring) which rushed out the reeds, presumably hoping for a free lunch. My grebe was not interested in this idea and swam towards me before making quick work of its meal near the edge of the ice.

I couldn't keep the dabchick in focus throughout the action, but I got enough shots to make this short sequence. I had my shutter speed set at 1/500s to capture the bird diving and surfacing; consequently the aperture was f/5.6, the maximum for this lens and converter combination, as I always try to maintain the minimum ISO setting of 200 to get the best colour and tonal quality in my images. In spite of the narrow depth of field I think I made the right choices here although the action was far faster and better than I could have reasonably expected. My first view of these photos revealed that the dabchick's meal was a newt, probably a palmate newt. This is an interesting observation as I don't think newts are often recorded as part of a grebe's diet and the textbooks say that they generally spend the winter on land too. It seems this newt was either unwise or unlucky, on the other hand the dabchick was lucky and of course I was lucky too!
I have been back to the pond a couple of times subsequently, all the grebes are still there but I  haven't been able to improve on these photos.