Red-necked Grebe Up Close

Enjoyed my closest ever views of a Red-necked Grebe today...

Absolutely stunning!

My day took a surprising turn mid-afternoon, when I had a phone call from an acquaintance asking for my advice on what to do about the bird that looked a bit out of place on their driveway.  I should mention at this point, this person lives in Sidmouth, over a mile and a half from the sea in a quiet cul-de-sac.

I was impressed that the finders had tentatively identified it as a Grebe, but thinking there was probably more chance of it being a moribund Guillemot or Razorbill, I asked for a photo before I could offer any further advice. This is the picture I received soon after...

Photo courtesy of finder and home owner S Haynes

 

Seeing it was a Red-necked Grebe, which other than being on a driveway apparently seemed very lively, I immediately referred the finder to the RSPCA. However no luck here, so my phone rang again.  I knew the vets wasn't a great option so I took hold of it myself...with gloves of course!

It did indeed seem to be in good shape, no problems with wings or feet and no visible injuries.  And although I was completely shocked at just how small and compact it looked up-close (can't even begin to imagine how small a Little Grebe would look in the hand!) it had some body fat on it too. Also no obvious signs of bird flu, although of course that could always come on tomorrow so who knows.  

Today we had some really sharp and heavy showers, extremely heavy in fact.  My best guess is it was flying over when one of these showers hit, forcing it down and possibly landing in the street thinking it was a river.

Anyway, my first choice was to release it on the sea, however the large breaking waves put me off this idea so I released it on to the lower Axe Estuary instead.  It swam off strongly, and although at first went down river with the flow of the water, it soon found its legs and by the end of the day had swam up almost the entire length of the Estuary!  A promising sign I hope.

Not a sight ever seen on the Axe Estuary before, and only off the sea front on a handful of occasions

 

Both after the same food!

 

Seeing it mingle with the wintering Little Grebes was amazing, and I hope this bodes well for its chances.  What was reassuring was that I was contacted by a member of the RSPCA West Hatch team this evening, agreeing and praising my course of action, and confirming that it was extremely unlikely West Hatch would have been able to accept this bird.

But it's Steve and Anna who need the praise, otherwise this bird would probably have ended up as Fox or Cat food on a driveway in Sidmouth.  Thank you both. And good luck Grebe, I hope I never see you again as you carry on with your autumn migration...

The post I was supposed to write tonight, about my birding morning last (sunny) Saturday will now be posted tomorrow or Wednesday.  So do check back for that.

In the meantime, Grebe-stroker signing off for the night...