Cute kid...ugly nursery

[MEGHAN]

Last stop of the day was to see the Red - Necked Grebe family. I must say, this has got to be the ugliest nest I have ever come across. They were making quite a lot of improvements while I was there. In the 3 hours I sat there they brought in a whole bunch of underwater plants and sticks to help build up the nest.
Still, it is what it is. Just a plain old tire. But how cute are baby Grebes??
To be this close to the family was awesome. Plus I was the only one there, which was nice. Great photo opportunity for anyone thinking about going down. As of Friday when I was there, 2 eggs had hatched and a total of 5 eggs were still in the nest.
This is a big post. Lots of photos. I just wanted to give people an idea of the shots you can get, with and without the Goodyear.
Thanks for looking

[lovemypt]

We were there on Sat and had a great show as well... the Cliff swallow colony is really neat to see as well..lots of up-close and person shots.

[dizzy]

Oh wow. Nice set. Thanks for sharing.

[MEGHAN]

Thanks Dave and Dizzy, glad you like the photos.
As of earlier this evening there is only one chick and 3 eggs remaining. Yet again it seems like the odds are not in the favor of these birds being successful.
Time will tell.

[jackbreakfast]

Great ones, Meghan, and thanks for these. I visited the tire nursery today...one chicklet was being carted around, and 3 eggs are in the tire nest...there are also some nifty mute swan cygnets at the harbour, a rare treat for my eyes...those bastards do what they can to hinder the development of the mute swan species because they are not native...this kind of backwards and semi-insane human thinking makes my blood boil. Ah the wrongheaded arrogance of human conservationists! It's enough to get me laughing every time...but no-one wants to hear this. Pardon me! Anyhow, lovely pics and thank you for sharing them! Do I assume correctly that you were shooting at 400mm?

[Irene]

Amazing captures. Nice to see they are actually hatching the eggs no matter that the nursery is ugly...it worked!

[Brian Bailey]

Great set!  Viewing it on my phone, I didn't see the chick at first.  It's a hungry one!

BB

[JimmyM]

Meghan,
Really nice interesting shots - like them much !
Jim

[polycracker]

You always seem to find the more unique birds to share with us.  

Thank you!

[MEGHAN]

Hey David, thanks!! I was using a 300mm + 1.4 TC so about 420mm i believe. Give or take.
Thanks Brian, the little ones were so tiny I am not surprised you couldn't see him on your phone. One was a day old and one hatched that morning.
I don't even know if one of these two are still around. I know there is one chick at the nest but I don't know if it is a survivor or a new one.
Thanks Irene and Jimmy, much appreciated comments.
Poly, thanks for your post. Your comments mean a lot to me.

Thanks all!!!
Meghan

[Rob'in'To]

Great series Meghan!

I need or rather should have gone out there.  Probably changed a bit since, eh.

[MEGHAN]

Hey Rob,

You can still get down there and get some great shots. Looks like there will be only one chick this year. Still riding aroung on the parents back so you still have a great opportunity.

Meghan