Red-necked Grebe at Ferry Meadows CP, Peterborough

A bird in winter plumage, hence not really a red neck, but showing ridiculously well close to the visitor centre on Overton lake at Ferry Meadows CP.

On reflection

Kingfisher

Cuckoo in the nest

A few weeks ago I was privileged to witness something that I consider to be a true wonder of the natural world and something that I had never witnessed before, a Cuckoo chick being fed by its' adopted parents. In this case the parent was a Reed Warbler which was extremely attentive, feeding its' oversized offspring every five minutes or so.
The Reed Warbler does not question its' weird looking youngster and the Cuckoo chick knows that it is a Cuckoo, indeed it will fledge and then fly to Africa knowing where all the other Cuckoos go and then return to start the process all over again. The Reed Warbler will breed again the folowing year and probably raise Reed Warbler chicks, never once thinking that these young look different to the bird they raised the previous year.
A true case of nature over nurture.

Some more Otter photos

Goldfinch on a teasel (back lit)

Otter in the rain

Red-throated Diver at Peterborough rowing lake

This adult Red-throated Diver turned up on the partially frozen rowing lake at Thorpe Park in Peterborough on the 3rd March, obviously blown in by the easterly winds. Not a common bird inland, indeed the first time one has turned up in the Peterborough area for a number of years and so, a very welcome PBC tick for me.

The bird (in its' winter plumage, hence no red throat) showed very well whilst I was on site and continued to do so for the next couple of days until it made its' way to the larger Gunwade Lake at nearby Ferry Meadows CP when the thaw came. It remained there until yesterday, whereupon it obviously decided that enough was enough as there was no sign this morning.