25/01/16 - GCG

Last week whilst working with us at the NNR Base (on her 64^th birthday – what a trooper!), Jean received a call about a grebe which had been brought into care at Minster Vets in York. With it being an unusual bird for the vets to deal with, they phoned Jean for her advice and expertise.

The grebe (a great crest), had been found in a field on the outskirts of York unable to stand or walk, with the presumption that it had been stranded in the field once the flood water had receded. Jean went straight off to collect the grebe with the inkling that nothing would be wrong with it - knowing that grebes are excellently adapted for life on the water with their legs and feet placed so far back on their bodies, thus not ideal for land. As Jean had suspected, on arrival there appeared to be little wrong with the grebe, soon returning at the base with a beautiful immature Great Crested Grebe in the passenger seat. Jean had checked over the bird at the vets, other than a few scuffs from being in confinement – it was in good condition, and was a good weight and rather feisty. Following the check over, the bird was ringed (aged as a first winter due to the buff colouration on the greater coverts), and sexed as a female on bill length.  

The grebe was taken down on to Bank Island to be released, as soon as it could see the flooded Ings it wanted to be off, with plenty of loud calling as we walked with it towards the water’s edge. As we placed it on the flood water behind the base it paddled off quite happily, drinking, preening and diving like nothing had happened – a happy ending for a beautiful bird.