Divedapper

It’s a quick visit to RSPB Conwy before shopping for our weekend visitors - yes we have yet more house guests. This time it’s Daniel and Solveig, so of course we’re thrilled to see them - they come tomorrow for the first time in what seems like months.  

Again, I make it to the Carneddau hide - the viewpoint for last Sunday’s pony blip - and once more the water’s perfectly still and calm with little bird activity close to the hide. I spot the tiniest movement in the water over by the distant rocks, and find a Little Grebe. I say ‘find’, but almost as soon as I focus on it, it disappears once more. Clearly, its ability to quickly disappear under the surface has given rise to its common name of dabchick, with several equally apt old regional names - ‘divedapper, ‘divedop’, ‘douker’ and ‘divvy duck’. Even its genus name Tachybaptus ruficollis comes  from the Ancient Greek takhus "fast" and bapto "to sink under". And fast it most definitely is. 

So spotting him popping up from a dive becomes a game of cat and mouse, and just as I manage a few shots of the distant aquatic Houdini, my camera battery gives up! Yes, I know - always bring a spare! I thought I had, but a search of my camera bag reveals I clearly haven’t! 

So this is the best of what I have. Not perfect, and definitely better large on black, but I rather like the calmness, colour and reflections.