{"id":253,"date":"2022-02-21T18:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T17:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=53165"},"modified":"2022-02-21T18:18:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T17:18:13","slug":"where-and-when-to-see-great-crested-grebes-dancing-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/where-and-when-to-see-great-crested-grebes-dancing-in-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Where and when to see great crested grebes dancing in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Mike Dilger\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 21 February 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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With Strictly Come Dancin<\/em>g all wrapped up before Christmas, many readers may be missing their weekly dose of dancing come early spring. If, however, you find yourself unable to wait for the new series, but are prepared to exchange your sofa for a warm coat and binoculars, there is a spectacle on offer from February onwards into spring that may just eclipse anything provided by cavorting celebrities dressed in sequins.<\/p>\n

Great crested grebes may look drab out of the breeding season, but they more than make up for their nondescript winter plumage with the extraordinary outfit ushered in by their second partial moult. Keen to impress their dance partner, the end result is a gorgeous headset, composed of a frill or \u2018tippet\u2019 of chestnut and black-tipped feathers that surrounds their white faces like a sundial \u2013 faces that are topped off with a set of black horn-like plumes.<\/p>\n

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A great crested grebe in breeding plumage. \u00a9 Mats Brynolf\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Why do great crested grebes dance?<\/h2>\n

Many grebes will already have paired up on wintering grounds. It\u2019s only upon arrival at their chosen breeding lake or reservoir that the couple will truly begin testing the waters of their fledgling relationship. In addition to cementing their alliance, the other reason for their elaborate display is to carve out sufficient aquatic real estate to feed their family.<\/p>\n

Early in the courtship process the grebes are frequently noisy, with their braying calls slicing through the cold, clear air. These utterances not only function as a means of keeping the pair in contact with one another but also reminding other grebes nearby that the territory has been claimed.<\/p>

What does the great crested grebes\u2019 courtship display look like?<\/h2>\n

Often the first \u2013 and also most common \u2013 display component to be observed is when the pair come together, often after having spent a while feeding apart. Facing each other with erect necks, the two birds will begin either alternately or synchronously shaking their heads and extravagant head plumes from side to side. This vigorous head-tossing frequently morphs into bob-preening, which entails the birds turning their heads around to flick their back feathers with their bills \u2013 almost the grebe equivalent of a curtsy.<\/p>\n

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Great crested grebes courting. \u00a9 AlbyDe Tweede\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Keen to constantly test the strength of their relationship during this feeling-out process, a behaviour known as the \u2018ghostly penguin display\u2019 is triggered by one of the pair approaching the other from beneath the water.<\/p>\n

Resurfacing within its partner\u2019s personal space, the grebe will rear up out of the water, almost like a ghostly apparition,\u00a0with its neck arched down. Here the response of the watching grebe is crucial, with the desired riposte being a highly ritualised \u2018cat posture\u2019, which involves the watching grebe half-opening its wings and ruffling its feathers in a gesture designed to appease and defuse any tension between the two birds.<\/p>\n

What is the great crested grebes\u2019 \u2018weed ceremony\u2019?<\/h2>\n

With bonds further strengthened, the pair may then move on to the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance: the weed ceremony. Often commencing with a spot of head-shaking and bob-preening, the birds will part, only to then dive below water in search of a green prop.<\/p>\n

Eventually resurfacing with some aquatic vegetation in their respective bills, they will then rush to a central meeting point with heads held low before grandly rising, breast to breast, using their webbed feet to tread water as they elegantly swish the vegetation from side to side.<\/p>\n

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A pair of great crested grebes doing the weed ceremony. \u00a9 Alexander Potapov\/500px\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Unable to sustain this energy-sapping behaviour for too long, after a time the duo will settle back down onto the water, often winding up their dazzling display with a final bout of head-shaking. All that then remains is to wait for the judges\u2019 10s to come rolling in.<\/p>\n

As grebes are conspicuous water birds, happy to perform in the open on cold, clear days, this should be one of the easier British spectacles to catch in early spring. With your front row seat guaranteed, the only other thing you will need to pack, apart from your binoculars, is that all important prerequisite to wildlife-watching: plenty of patience!<\/p>\n

Discover more spring wildlife to look out for:<\/h4>\n