Great Crested Grebe at Balranald

Murrumbidgee River, Balranald

Sydney Trip June 2011

I written a number of times recently about our trip earlier this year to visit family in Sydney. On our way home we took a little extra time to stop off and do a little birding at key spots, usually lunch times or when we stopped to have a cuppa. Instead of taking only 2 days to come home we took an extra day. I’ll be sharing some of my sightings and photos of the birds seen in the coming days.

On the second day coming home we stopped at Balranald, NSW to have lunch. We drove down to the picnic area on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River (see photo above). One of the birds seen was a solitary Great Crested Grebe, shown in the photo below.

Australasian Grebes are very common on lakes, rivers and wetlands in Australia, as are Hoary Headed Grebes. Great Crested Grebes – in my experience – are nowhere near as common and therefore any sighting is exciting. They are also spectacular birds to see, especially during courtship displays. Sadly, this one was a long way away from my camera, and because I’ve not yet learned to walk on water, the resulting photo is way below my usually high standards. Sigh.

Never mind; one day I will capture a great photo of this great species.

Very poor photo of a Great Crested Grebe, Balranald