Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus
Local status: Rare winter visitor
A rare winter visitor in our area with all records being in the winter period from November to February, with the earliest record being on 9th November (2001) and the latest record on 25th February (1979 and 1996). January and February offer the best chance of finding this species, with nine records having occurred in these months. Despite the Lower Derwent Valley taking the lion’s share of records, birds have occurred throughout the area, showing that any patch of water is worth checking during the winter period. Eight individuals have stayed for only one day, so birders should be quick off the mark when the next bird appears. Three of the records have involved birds that have stayed for a while, with the birds in 1980 and 1985 staying for two weeks. The 1996 bird was recorded as two separate individuals but it seems highly likely that one elusive bird was involved, given the extensive area of floods in the Lower Derwent Valley in which a tiny bird can disappear for days on end, and also the species’ genuine rarity in the York area.
Records:
2021: Bank Island, 15th to 25th February. one winter-plumaged

2019: River Derwent at North Duffield, 18th to 19th November. one
2018: River Derwent at Thorganby, 28th December. one
2016: Heslington East, 10th November, one winter plumage – Duffbirder meets South Holderness!: A brighter day

2016: North Duffield Carrs, 27th & 28th March, one winter plumage

2001: Castle Howard, 9th November. Two.
1999: East Cottingwith, 31st January.
1998: Wheldrake Ings, 10th January.
1997: North Duffield Carrs, 26th October. Two.
1996: Sutton-on-Derwent, 25th February.
1996: Elvington, 14th February.
1995: Wheldrake Ings, 7th December.
1993: Lower Derwent Valley, 30th November.
1993: York University, 17th January.
1985: Lower Derwent Valley, 8th to 21st January.
1984: Ellerton Ings, 8th to 9th February. Two.
1984: North Duffield Carrs, 31st January.
1980: Dringhouses Pond, York, 10th to 24th February.
1979: Wheldrake Ings, 25th February.
1972: Castle Howard, 6th February.
Unsubstantiated records:
1990: River Ouse, Poppleton, 14th to 19th December.