Little Grebe (or Dabchick) - Tachybaptus ruficollis

In over 5 years of extensive canal and river cruising in England and North Wales we have personally only had just two positive sightings of the Little Grebe or Dabckick, Tachybaptus ruficollis.

This small water bird reaches a size between 23 to 29 cm in length. A member of the grebe family of water birds.

We saw one single bird, a couple of years ago, on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Liverpool and a single bird (Jan 2010) on the Shropshire Union Canal at Adderley Locks.

According to the RSPB there are a maximum of 36,000 individual Dabchicks in the UK and may be as few as 18,000 - so maybe that's why we don't see many of them then!

The adult Little Grebe / Dabchick summer plumage is predominantly dark above with its rich, rust brown (rufous) colour neck, cheeks and flanks, and bright yellow gape. The rufous is replaced by a dirty brownish grey in non-breeding and juvenile birds.

Juvenile birds have a yellow bill with a small black tip, and black and white streaks on the cheeks and sides of the neck. This yellow bill darkens as the juveniles age, eventually turning black once in adulthood.

In winter, its size, buff plumage, with a darker back and cap, and “powder puff” rear end (see top photo) enables easy identification of the Little Grebe / Dabchick.