29th August - Blashford Lakes, Hampshire

Having seen photographs of the summer plumaged Black-necked Grebe at Blashford Lakes I decided to make the journey in the hope that it was still about.  Apparently it was showing well in front of the Tern hide on Ibsley Water.  I pulled up outside and was quickly into the hide.  The conditions looked good, calm water in front of the hide and nice light.  Unfortunately the grebe was not there and had not been seen in the time of the hide opening and me arriving.

I settled in to wait in the hope it might appear and was treated to a Great Crested Grebe in front of the hide instead.  It liked to lie on the water close to the weed and was calling.

Out on the lake there were a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls perched on the perch.

The calling brought in another Great Crested Grebe

And then surprisingly started to display to each other.

Turning away from the grebes I scanned the lake and picked out a very nice adult Yellow-legged Grebe.  Here the greyer mantle somewhere between the grey of a Herring Gull and the dark grey of the Lesser Black-backed Gull.  The head shows streaking but only around the eye and forehead, leaving the neck which is streaked on the Herring Gull.  A nice year tick

As well as the Black-necked Grebe there has been a female Ruddy Shelduck and it was present on the lake, distant but clearly seen as the Ruddy Shelduck.

Once again the origins of this duck were not clear, but possibly more certain than those of the Heath Pond Shelduck.

Not the Grebe I hoped for but a lovely looking bird, the Great Crested Grebe.

I stuck it out for just over two hours looking at this view out across Ibsley Water.

And of course in Black and White

I took a break and walked down to the Ivy Lake South, hoping for maybe a Kingfisher in front of the hide.  I saw a kingfisher, but distantly.  In the time I was there I had to make do with this Migrant Hawker that was stalking up and down in front of the hide.

It was very quiet, but I was taken by this Coot in the black water, the ripples adding some nice contrasting white.

I walked back to the Tern Hide to have my lunch, but soon after that I decided to call it a day.  It was disappointing that the Black-necked Grebe was gone.  It was reported later but I feel that may have been the report from earlier when some one was claiming it when it was a Little Grebe.