What they like

Quiet, shallow freshwater with lots of aquatic plants. Think: puddles, small ponds, wide ditches, peat-pits. It wants cover to nest in: reed, bulrush, sedges, bur-reed. So: leave banks a bit messy. Mow in stages and never everything at once. In park ponds: prefer natural banks over neat stonework. On your plot: a pond with gentle sloping edges and a strip of reed is gold.

Ecological importance

The little grebe is a small hunter of fish and insects. It snaps up three-spined sticklebacks, but also feeds on water beetles, dragonfly larvae and other aquatic critters. It shows you whether your water is alive: clear water + lots of aquatic plants = a chance of little grebes. Large predatory fish and birds of prey sometimes get it, but mostly broods disappear due to disturbance and bare banks.

When in the Netherlands

All year round. Less visible in the breeding season (roughly April–July), when it builds its floating nest among the reeds. Outside the breeding season it’s more often in groups, so it stands out more.

Status

Breeding and resident bird. Locally present, vulnerable where banks are too neat and are cleaned too often.