UPI – Two Greater Crested Grebes surprised a photographer with an extremely rare courtship dance.
Twenty-eight-year-old Peter Martin, a self-employed photographer and nature enthusiast, had front-row seats to the amazing sighting from the comfort of the Malachite Bird Hide set in the Wilderness National Park along Langvlei Lake in South Africa.
“I arrived at an extraordinary spectacle. Then the grebes glided closer to the hide. Seeing them up close was a rare sight, and I couldn’t resist capturing their beauty on camera. Then, something truly magical happened,” he said.
In a mesmerising sequence of events, the grebes began to engage in a captivating courtship dance. They raised their wings, puffed out their crests, and synchronised their head movements in perfect harmony. The birds swam swiftly towards each other, creating an unforgettable sight.
The pinnacle of this dance was when the grebes offered plant material to each other, dancing gracefully on the water’s surface while rubbing their undersides together. Peter recalled, “It felt like a magical moment, and capturing it on camera was a huge bonus. What a treat!”
After this enchanting display, the grebes dropped their “plant offerings” and swam off together, side by side, towards the reeds.
