Coot with Chick

I spent an hour at the loch today, Mostly checking on the great-crested grebe nest. I had calculated that the eggs should have hatched at the weekend and today I was proved to be correct.

The parent was still sitting tight on the nest so there may still be some eggs still to hatch. The partner came in twice while I was watching, once with a visible small fish in its beak. That was when a striped chick showed itself. No decent photos though as all partly obscured by twigs and foliage.

The other choices for blipping were some goslings, coot chicks and a distant yellowhammer.
The goslings were unusual Their parents were two white ex-farmyard geese (a type of grey-lag) with pinky-orange bill and legs. Two goslings had pale yellow down, yellow legs and yellow bill. The third one had darker down, black legs and a black bill. Three possibilities. A mutation, a chance showing of wild-type genes or a different father for the odd-one out. If it survives, I'll take pictures of it as it grows.

My choice of blip is based on quality. The coots win again. - Fulica atra