More birds and their young in Jeziorki

These days bring much marvel. Whether returning home from work the long way, or just going for a walk from home, when the sun shines, I must go and see what's happening. I must say, the Nikon CoolPix P900 with its superzoom lens is magnificent for taking photos of the birds on the wetlands.

Below: there are several breeding pairs (at least three) of black-necked grebes (perkoz zausznik). This pair has three chicks, sitting on the mother's back

Below: the father has returned with food with which to feed the chicks.

Below: in the middle pond, another pair of black-necked grebes are raising a single chick.

Meanwhile, the one pair of great crested grebes (perkoz dwuczuby) that I've observed are still waiting for their clutch of eggs to hatch. Below: picture taken today...

...and below, taken yesterday. The female grebe is impatiently looking at the egg(s). Note how far back along the body the grebe's legs are. This gives excellent leverage when diving; not so good for walking though.

Meanwhile the male greater crested grebe is close by (below), frequently disappearing underwater and popping back up with a mollusc or piece of pond weed. Once hatched, the greater crested grebes' chicks, like those of their black-necked cousins, will ride around on mother's back.

Meanwhile, back to the perennial denizens of Jeziorki's ponds - the coots. The pair at the southern end of the pond have had eight chicks (one's out of frame in this shot). Other coot pairs have five or fewer chicks.

The black-headed gull (mewa śmieszka) makes a good neighbour for coots and grebes - the gulls flock in large numbers and behave raucously when a potential predator approaches, warning the other birds with whom they share the pond. The gulls' eggs hatch in the first half of May - but I've not seen any chicks around. Unlike the ducking and diving water fowl, gull chicks are not precocial - that is they are unable to fend for themselves at birth.

The first clear shot of this year's brood of cygnets. There's six of them, they are now four days old and totally mobile. Even at a day old, they managed to traverse half of the length of the northern pond.

Below: mother swan shakes the water off her wings, her flotilla of cygnets remains unflustered by the sudden commotion...

UPDATE: Wednesday 24 May - Greater crested grebes' egg (singular) has not hatched.

This time last year:
"Distinguish joy from pleasure" - wise words

This time five years ago:
A post about a book about a film about a journey to a room

This time seven years ago:
Mr Pheasant trumpets his presence

This time eight years ago:
Balancing on the Edge of Chaos

This time nine years ago:
Zamienie and the encroaching tide of Development