Psilos Bird Journal
Saturday October 21st 2006
     
"Underaged courtship 2"
 
 

The juveniles fish just as energetically as the adults but one time when a juvenile surfaced instead of a fish in its beak it was holding a piece of flimsy rag. Whilst clutching the rag tightly the juvenile turned to one of his siblings and rose up out of the water. I was astonished to then observe the pair of them go through the actions of the adults courtship display. From twenty feet this was a unique and very exciting experience made all the more frustrating by the slow buffer speed on my camera. A good thirty seconds went by, their heads like clockwork turning from side to side before the pair dropped back down low into the water and the show was over. With my heart racing I was all too aware that I had seen something quite astonishing, something rarely witnessed much less photographed before and I could only pray that my photographs were any good.
     

     


Today had proved a very successful day. Not only had I managed to get close to the grebes but I had witnessed something very special too. It is one of those days that will stay lodged in my memory for a very long time....