Great Crested Grebe in Stormy Weather
Walking past the big mere at Tatton Park, I noticed a nest containing a sitting Great Crested Grebe that was only two or three yards from the edge. Out in the middle was the male, diving for fish. I have always been fascinated by these elegant birds, and took the opportunity of photographing them.
I went back several times to follow their progress, but then, after a week of rain, disaster struck. When I got to the mere, the wind was blowing a gale, straight across the mere towards the grebe's nest. The grebes were trying in vain to save their waterlogged nest by adding extra vegetation, but it did not help the eggs which were level with the water surface. The nest was doomed by the rise in water level and the waves battering it.