Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus
Very scarce/ scarce passage migrant and winter visitor, mainly August-May.
Slavonian Grebes: left, Barton Pits on April 1st 2007 (Graham Catley); centre, Covenham Reservoir October 27th 2007 (Neil Smith);
right, Cleethorpes Country Park January 30th 2016 (Mark Johnson).
The Atlas reported that in the 1980s and 1990s there were usually less than 10 birds per year and that exceptionally in hard winters influxes of up 25 had occurred. In the five years to 2018 LBR reports averaged 20 per year with a range of 8 (2017) to 29 (2016). There was no specific influx as such but more reports from coastal areas. Of the 97 birds reported, 81 were on or off the coast and 16 inland of which 10 were long stayers at a wide variety of locations throughout the county. There were no summer records in the period. Two particularly popular birds were at Cleethorpes Country Park from January 29th to February 9th 2016. WeBS data indicates the rolling mean 5-year UK wintering population to 2018-19 was 846, that for Lincolnshire was three.
(Account as per new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021), included September 2022)