Black-necked Grebe - Podiceps nigricollis
Pictures by Ray Tipper - More about Ray...
More about Ray Tipper
Ray Tipper began his birding on the North Kent Marshes at the age if eleven. He left his native Britain in 1973 spending most of the next 22 years in Hong Kong. As a trustee of WWF he was intimately involved with its renowned Mai Po Nature Reserve. It was in Hong Kong that Ray turned to bird photography, which quickly became his major interest. He gained associateship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1990, and his photographs appear in journals and books throughout the world. Ray guides specialist birdwatching and bird photography tours and since 1997 has led more than 100 tours in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Madagascar. He now lives in the Algarve, where his intimate knowledge of its birds has been recognised by his appointment as Chairman of the Portuguese Rarities Committee.
A group of winter plumaged birds. Cerro do Bufo, Castro Marim
The Black-necked Grebe is a winter visitor. Like all European grebes, Black-necked Grebe is rather drab in winter plumage, but is transformed into one of the most handsome of waterbirds as it acquires breeding plumage which it begins to develop from as early as January. The Salinas de Santa Luzia support a few each winter but the main site in the Algarve is the Cerro do Bufo section of the Castro Marim nature reserve where more than a hundred may gather by the middle of winter. Unfortunately, most choose to stay in a pan that is not easily viewable from the perimeter track, but it is rare for none to be visible on a visit at the appropriate time of year.
Adult in breeding plumage
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