When lots of families come out play!
Different types of ducks and a family of moorhens heading for cover!
But I have been amazed at the number of great crested grebes we have seen – in the basin at Ypres, literally behind the boats, and then all the way along the river Ijzer and the Lokanaal. I have no idea how many photos I took trying to catch them – they sure move and dive fast.
At Ypres there was a family with 2 babies which was reduced to one after a particularly ‘noisy’ night – kept hearing ‘screaming’ from under the pontoon.
Literally saw mummy (or daddy) grebe carrying one baby on her back. And saw them with fish in their bills when they surfaced. But the strangest thing I saw was one parent hunkering down into the water and blowing out their white chest feathers – presumably to make itself look more scary and so frighten off predators and protect their baby! Sat up tall again when we had gone past.
In fact the birdlife has been stunning – herons, cormorants, coots, moorhens & grebe in and around the water. But the cuckoo is making itself heard along with many different unknown birds along the river bank.
Piedaleau 