Courting/bonding behaviour - Puteketeke – Australasian Crested Grebe – Podiceps cristatus australis

I have been following this pair as they build a floating nest platform among half submerged willow branches at Lake Forsyth. A couple of weeks ago they had almost finished their nest when a huge storm completely washed it away. They have rebuilt very quickly in the same spot and the female is now spending a lot of time actually sitting on the platform fussing with it's final structure. No eggs yet but I have to assume from their behaviour that the eggs aren't far away!

 

Found throughout Europe, Africa and parts of Asia to Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand these birds breed only in the South Island in lowland lakes west of the Southern Alps and on subalpine and alpine lakes within and east of the main ranges with the greatest occurrence in Canterbury. They are a fully protected and threatened native, having disappeared from much of their former range, although the Canterbury population seems reasonably stable. But their low numbers and relatively few breeding places leave them very vulnerable to human interference and habitat changes.

 

 

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