Feathered submarines

Since the temperatures dropped to -30°C last night at some places in Czechia, maybe we can have a small summer throwback to warm up. As I have certainly mentioned in some of my earlier posts, one of my favorite locations to shoot is Vrbenské ponds. During a short stroll last August I was lucky enough to meet pair of great crested grebes together with their younglings. If you think of them as just another “duck”, you might be surprised after watching them for some time.

First of all, you might notice their almost alien-like look. The red eyes, crest reminding radio antenna and spear for beak make them certainly stand out. However, what really amazes me about them is their ability to catch fish under water. Even though fishing is not so rare skill in the bird world, it always seemed to me a bit weird, that birds, which are usually best adapted to conquer air, are sometimes also great divers. I can’t provide any comprehensive statistics, but the pair of grebes I photographed that day had success rate about 50 %. Every now and then they disappeared under water, stayed there for about 30 seconds and with every other (or every third at most) attempt they emerged with a fish in their beak.

However, most of the time the fish was not for them to eat, but for the ones depending on their care - the younglings. Over and over they dived and brought food for their offspring, which could not yet hunt on their own. And that was kind of the coolest part of the whole show. The feathered submarines at their best.

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