Rare Dutch grebes and ducks

This is a black-necked grebe video from Poland.

Translated from BirdLife in the Netherlands:

Many eared grebes and red-crested pochard ducks because of improving water quality

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Now, in the Gooimeer lake, near Huizen, there is an unusually big group of 48 black-necked grebes. Never before on this bordering lake so many individuals of this scarce species have been seen. The formerly rare red-crested pochard duck is increasing in numbers on the Gooimeer as well. These developments are attributable to the improvement of water quality: the water is brighter and in recent years more and more water plants have started growing here.

Several weeks ago, black-necked grebes started to come to the Gooimeer near Huizen. In late June, the first eight individuals were seen. Then, the number rose quickly to 48 on 14 July. Never before have so many black-necked grebes been seen on the Gooimeer. They don’t breed here, they come from elsewhere, they are birds which have already left their breeding grounds. The black-necked grebe is a scarce breeding bird in the Netherlands with about 350-420 pairs in 2010. They nest mainly in pools on high grounds, but they also appear in new nature areas, such as the Groene Jonker near the Nieuwkoop lakes. The black-necked grebes are still in breeding plumage, with conspicuous golden ear tufts. The black-necked grebe is much smaller than the much more common great crested grebe.