Mating great crested grebes. Damselflies; dragonflies

Today, blue tailed damselflies on the water lily leaves.

On the meadow: oystercatchers, including at least one chick.

Redshank. Northern lapwing.

On the castle pond, a parent great grested grebe with a chick.

On the grebe nest: one grebe bending forward

The other grebe first swimming behind the nest, gently pecking the other one.

Then, climbing on the nest as well and mating.

While I had often seen great crested grebes courting, this was the first time I saw them mating.

Male and female great crested grebes are very similar, and apparently often change positions in mating.

From a bench near the small pond: a black tailed skimmer dragonfly flying.

And a song thrush eating a snail.

At the white stork nest, one parent. And two chicks.

So, unlike, alas, many other young storks, they survived the rainy weather.

And it is sunny now.