Black-necked grebe and natterjack toad

This is a video of two black-necked grebes in the Netherlands.

Within Meijendel nature reserve, there is a specially protected area called Kikkervalleien. It is open the public only for one day a year, usually in June. This year, that one day was today.

Before arriving there: two adult black swans with young, near the Valkenburgse meer.

Immediately after the Kikkervalleien entrance: two black-necked grebes swimming.

On ragwort plants, black and yellow striped caterpillars. They are caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth.

Flowers of vipers’ bugloss; Viola curtisii; southern marsh-orchid.

A lady working for the nature reserve shows us a very young natterjack toad, which was a tadpole not long ago. Also many still very small common frogs. Later, also an adult common toad there. There are also invertebrates in the water here, including great pond snails.

The nature reserve empoyee also names the many flowers close to the water here: rattle; common milkwort; fairy flax; water mint.

A bit higher, not so close to the water: scarlet pimpernel flowers.

Orchids of Zwanenwater reserve: here.

On a fence sits a male stonechat; see also here.

Many great cormorants flying overhead.

On the water’s edge of a small shallow dune lake, many very small common frogs. Swimming in the water: their brothers and sisters, still in the tadpole phase.

A bit higher, in the dunes: star gentian flowers.

When we get back to the entrance, a black-necked grebe swimming at the same spot where we have seen it earlier.

Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes are superficially very similar in their black-and-white winter plumage, and structural features are important in their separation: here.

Slavonian grebe spotted at Worcestershire reserve: here.