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Red-necked grebe - Podiceps grisegena For the last 20-30 years this species almost disappeared from Bulgaria. It used to breed in numerous wetlands and lakes, fishponds. Now it can be found only in a couple of places along the Danube river. <br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/115115/red-necked_grebe_mum_and_her_chick_-_podiceps_grisegena.html" title="Red-necked grebe mum and her chick - Podiceps grisegena"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/1332/115115_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=A%2Bo9cbix6C3mcDTrWiWu6UC9DXU%3D" width="200" height="152" alt="Red-necked grebe mum and her chick - Podiceps grisegena These birds nest in only a few places in Bulgaria and are relatively rare to observe. About 3 weeks ago I visited a beautiful protected area - the island of Persina on the Danube river, about 280 km from Sofia. Remarkably, there is an active prison on this island and access is restricted. The island can only be reached by a military pontoon bridge built in the 1960s.<br /> <br /> The island is also a historical landmark - on the period after the establishment of communist rule in Bulgaria in 1944, a concentration camp was built, where political opponents, intellectuals, officers of the tsarist army were imprisoned, tortured and killed. The buildings have now been turned into a memorial to commemorate the crimes of the communist regime.<br /> <br /> In the last few years, access to the island is possible, albeit with prior notice and a pass (however, the criminal prison is operational - in practice, the prison occupies only about 2% of the entire island).<br /> <br /> At my previous (first) visit to the island I managed to photograph a pair of red-necked divers, now I went especially with the hope of photographing them again and especially the newborn chicks. It turned out to be a very difficult task - the marsh vegetation is already quite large, there is no good visibility from the shore, and according to Murphy&#039;s Law, the reed is always in front of the lens. Still, I&#039;m happy that I was able to take some distant pictures of this beautiful chick.<br /> <br /> Note - on the back of the mother there are various plants, reeds and grasses. Maybe they serve as camouflage, I don&#039;t know. Often the young chicks get on the mother&#039;s back. There was only one chick now.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/113746/red-necked_grebe_-_podiceps_grisegena.html<br /> Animal,Animalia,Aves,Bird,Bulgaria,Chordata,Europe,Geotagged,Migratory bird,Persina Nature Park,Podiceps grisegena,Podicipedidae,Podicipediformes,Red-necked Grebe,Red-necked grebe,Spring,Wildlife" /></a></figure><br /> Animal,Animalia,Aves,Bird,Bulgaria,Chordata,Europe,Geotagged,Migratory bird,Persina Nature Park,Podiceps grisegena,Podicipedidae,Podicipediformes,Red-necked Grebe,Red-necked grebe,Spring,Water bird,Wildlife Click/tap to enlarge PromotedCountry intro

Red-necked grebe - Podiceps grisegena

For the last 20-30 years this species almost disappeared from Bulgaria. It used to breed in numerous wetlands and lakes, fishponds. Now it can be found only in a couple of places along the Danube river.

Red-necked grebe mum and her chick - Podiceps grisegena These birds nest in only a few places in Bulgaria and are relatively rare to observe. About 3 weeks ago I visited a beautiful protected area - the island of Persina on the Danube river, about 280 km from Sofia. Remarkably, there is an active prison on this island and access is restricted. The island can only be reached by a military pontoon bridge built in the 1960s.<br /> <br /> The island is also a historical landmark - on the period after the establishment of communist rule in Bulgaria in 1944, a concentration camp was built, where political opponents, intellectuals, officers of the tsarist army were imprisoned, tortured and killed. The buildings have now been turned into a memorial to commemorate the crimes of the communist regime.<br /> <br /> In the last few years, access to the island is possible, albeit with prior notice and a pass (however, the criminal prison is operational - in practice, the prison occupies only about 2% of the entire island).<br /> <br /> At my previous (first) visit to the island I managed to photograph a pair of red-necked divers, now I went especially with the hope of photographing them again and especially the newborn chicks. It turned out to be a very difficult task - the marsh vegetation is already quite large, there is no good visibility from the shore, and according to Murphy's Law, the reed is always in front of the lens. Still, I'm happy that I was able to take some distant pictures of this beautiful chick.<br /> <br /> Note - on the back of the mother there are various plants, reeds and grasses. Maybe they serve as camouflage, I don't know. Often the young chicks get on the mother's back. There was only one chick now.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/113746/red-necked_grebe_-_podiceps_grisegena.html<br /> Animal,Animalia,Aves,Bird,Bulgaria,Chordata,Europe,Geotagged,Migratory bird,Persina Nature Park,Podiceps grisegena,Podicipedidae,Podicipediformes,Red-necked Grebe,Red-necked grebe,Spring,Wildlife

    comments (1)

  1. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
    Lion
    View Lion class
    How wonderful that they are returning to the area. Posted 4 years ago

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The Red-necked Grebe

The Red-necked Grebe is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes. Grebes prefer shallow bodies of fresh water such as lakes, marshes or fish-ponds as breeding sites.

Info 9 3
Similar species: Grebes
Species identified by Jivko Nakev
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By Jivko Nakev

All rights reserved
Uploaded Apr 27, 2021. Captured Apr 25, 2021 10:56 in Unnamed Road, 5930 Belene, Bulgaria.
country flag of Bulgaria Explore Bulgaria 2,973 1,526 10
  • E-M1MarkIII
  • f/7.1
  • 1/1600s
  • ISO800
  • 500mm