Farmoor: 26 March

I arrived at Farmoor reasonably early this morning, and succeeded with my aim of getting some belated pics of the Red-necked Grebe which has turned up for the third spring in a row.

It was off the southern end of F2, near the "bus stop" and periodically coming in to fish and then retiring further out for a rest and preen. Surprisingly I had the bird pretty much to myself, probably due to the very poor light, and perhaps because of this it came in quite close a couple of times. It was remarkable how successful it was being - virtually every dive resulted in a catch of a small fish.

A few Sand Martins were about but I saw no sign of the Swallows and House Martin seen by others.

Click here for a higher res image

Identify the fish! Stickleback?

Red-necked Grebe