2011/08/02

Skäggdopping - Podiceps cristatus - Great Crested Grebe

click to enlarge


Skäggdopping - Podiceps cristatus - Great Crested Grebe
NF Photo 110802 in Djulö lake

This was very fun to watch. The couple have 4 young. And one parent came with a large fish and offered it to the family. But the fish was too large so the young tried to get it down the throat but failed and dropped it in the water. I hope the fish was dead because it was thrown back and forth for a long time. I even had time to shoot a video. But it did not really come out well. Not so easy when you are sitting in a kayak and the kayak starts to sway in waves from another boat.

About that last shot. I just could not resist it. But the camera plays tricks on you. It was a 300mm lens so it seem closer then it actually was to the beach. :)

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24 comments:

  1. Great photos!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  2. I love seeing the Grebes with their zebra striped juvenlies.....

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  3. Great photos of some very interesting moments. Wow! Your beach is so busy. The birds do well to put up with that much disturbance.

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  4. These are really great shots but that last is my favorite. Love the composition with the people in the background probably all wishing they could swim around in the water as easily as the Grebes.
    :-)

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  5. What a regal, elegant bird!


    FEEL THE WATERS’ HEALING

    If you’re stressed and weary
    Try a thing or two:
    Go down to the river,
    Take a friend with you;
    Take your shoes and socks off,
    Plunge in twenty toes—
    Feel the waters’ healing
    As the river flows!


    © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher

    Puddle of Light

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  6. I just love these grebes, awesome photos.

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  7. Lovely shots of the parents with their youngsters.

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  8. Great captures.
    They are interesting to watch when they come with fish for the young.

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  9. When I clicked on the second shot to see it a little larger I could hardly believe my eyes. I don't think I've ever seen such a wonderfully dynamic family action shot. It's like you can see the amusement in the parents faces as the little one tries mightily to down the fish. Absolutely brilliant picture taking!

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  10. Very interesting photos! Very dynamic!

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  11. Lovely shots! And to think you were on a Kayak! Love the last photo most. They look so not bothered by people by the shore.

    Cambagat Cave

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  12. That series is quite something!

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  13. What magnificent looking birds.

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  14. Nice shots. very interesting indeed :)

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  15. Amazing to see them playing so close to so many people! Lovely shots.

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  16. Hi there - what a great set of pictures - I find it really hard to get close to grebes. So, well done!

    Like the 300mm shot as well!

    Cheers Stewart M - Australia

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  17. Very nice images of these beautiful birds... if you hadn't posted the last one with all the beach people, I would have thought you were in a nature preserve somewhere with no people for miles.

    Thank you so much for your careful comments on my WBW post last week... I've been experimenting with different coding options and have posted my images in a smaller fashion (on my photo blog where I posted last week) and have managed to code them so they can be viewed large by clicking on them. This week's WBW post is on my travel blog (from our trip to Sweden recently).

    If I hadn't hacked the blogger template when I first started my blog posting, I believe all would be handled automatically... but I was having technical difficulties with the image display so experimented until I figured out how to simplify the coding and display the images the way I wanted them to display. (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) :-)

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  18. Fantastiska bilder! jag skulle så gärna vilja se en skäggdopping nån gång :)

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  19. Great photos good to get that close to them.

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  20. Looks like you had fun watching this whole process with the camera:)

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  21. The adult Grebes are such attractive birds as are there striped young! Great pictures of the family in action!

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  22. HOW gorgeous they are!!

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