Silvery Grebe, Lake Mica, Antisana Ecological Reserve, Ecuador.

The silvery grebe (Podiceps occipitalis) is a species in the family Podicipedidae. It is found in the western and southern part of South America at altitudes of up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes and this is where I saw them on my Ecuador trip in September. I particularly enjoyed seeing this grebe because in the British Isles, apart from the Great Crested, grebe are hard to see. We have 4 species in this family and also the Little Grebe which is in a family of its own, so five species in total. These birds were nesting in a colony on Lake Mica which is in the Antisana Ecological Reserve, a massive area that is described as a region where the climatic conditions are very extreme with low temperatures, low precipitation, high blowing winds and low oxygen levels. I have to confess that this area was my least favourite to visit when I was in Ecuador. It had been hyped up quite a lot but to me, it lived up to its reputation as a desolate and cold environment. There was a great deal of birdlife but most was hard to photograph. There was also some over-zealous park staff, one even came after us on an off-road bike to tell us to keep away from the nesting grebe. But this was eclipsed by a surly bearded young man at a checkpoint reminiscent of a border post where you were asked for Passport details and locals had to show their ID cards. When you consider that in Europe you travel between France and Belgium without any checks, this seemed ridiculously out of context! Javier, my guide was cross with me for being equally surly back to the "guard" if you get my meaning, (I can do surly quite well). I suddenly realised how free we are in the UK. It is interesting to travel because you then learn how different things can be in other countries.