MY LITTLE PONY?

If you visit a lake, pond or canal this month you might be startled by a strange whinnying. Should there be no pony or horse in sight, the sound can be somewhat confusing. What you’ve actually heard is the diminutive dabchick, or little grebe: pairs use the shrill, far-carrying calls to set up territories, so they’re usually heard in spring. Little grebes tend to be overshadowed by their ‘bling’ relative, the great crested grebe, but still look pretty handsome in breeding plumage, with their reddish-brown necks and neat greenish-yellow bill-spots.

FIND OUT MORE Listen to little grebes whinny on BBC Radio Four’s Tweet of the Day: www.bbc.co.uk/ radio4/tweetoftheday