Off With The Jet Washer

Clowbridge Reservoir - 25.3.2025

As my jet washer ceased working it was off the the menders and surprisingly the approved repairer, Balmers is located right next to Clowbridge Reservoir. The weather looks ok, the RNG still present, so a trip to try and get some images was the only option for today.

Red-necked Grebes breed in Russia wintering in Western and Southern Europe with only a small number of up to 100 each winter making it to the UK, so when this individual arrived on a local reservoir it was quite unusual. Arriving a few weeks ago it was still in it's drab winter plumage, now twenty or so days later it's more like it’s summer plumage with red colour as it's name suggests on it's neck.

Parking up in the usual location I'm making my way to where I last saw the grebe a week ago, Curlews are back flying about, Meadow Pipits are all calling and a Buzzard circling overhead, Spring has arrived. At the far end of the reservoir near the boat club house the grebe is surprisingly close in to the shoreline but it’s soon disturbed by a dog walker moving back out into the middle of the reservoir, the last time it stayed bang in the middle of the reservoir not moving for the entire time of my visit, today being a weekday and little quieter I’m hopeful for something better.

Using the wall as cover and waiting until the grebe dives I move into a prime position, it surfaces right in front of me, it's aware of my presence but still happy to keep diving. As it works it's way along the shoreline surfacing no more than twenty meters away it dives and again I move to a new position, and that's how the action panned out for about fifty minuets until eventually decides it had enough heading back in to the middle of the reservoir tucking it's head under a wing.

With enough images on the card it's been quite a success, apart from the variable light my expectations have been exceeded considering it's quite a large reservoir, most images I've seen have been at distance so I'm please with my efforts getting so close, again shame about the light !

Red-necked Grebe