Great Crested Grebe
Podiceps cristatus · Waterfowl
Great Crested Grebe
Stodmarsh, 2 May 2026
A Great Crested Grebe on the lake at Stodmarsh in May, in full breeding plumage. Grebes are birds of still fresh water across Europe and Asia, and the gravel pits and lakes of Kent hold them all year.
The chestnut-and-black head plumes are raised and fanned during an elaborate mutual courtship, including the "weed dance", where paired birds rise breast to breast holding waterweed in their bills. Those plumes were fashionable trim for Victorian hats by the 1860s, and the hunting that followed nearly wiped the species out of Britain - one of the founding grievances behind the society that became the RSPB.
Great Crested Grebe
Dungeness, 20 December 2025
A Great Crested Grebe riding low in the water at Dungeness in December, the way grebes always do. It is the grebe of lakes and gravel pits across Europe and Asia, and the flooded pits of the Kent coast hold them all year.
Chestnut-and-black head plumes and a dagger-straight pink bill. The legs are set so far back on the body that they are superb divers but nearly helpless walking on land, to the point that some species barely leave the water at all outside the breeding season. This is the bird the RSPB was founded to save, when its plumes were fashionable on hats.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
Every photograph comes with notes on what it is.
Selected
Favourite shots. Filter by subject, or .
Places
Everything, by where it was taken.
Species
Larger catalogue of photos organized by species of animal or plant.
Catalogue
Every photograph, newest first. Narrow it by period, place or species; the three work together.
Updates
Coming soon. Sign up at the bottom of the page for updates.