This is the long staying Slavonian Grebe tat has been resident "year round" on the River Exe, usually around the mouth of the harbour at Cockwwod.  It's history apparently as far as I am aware, is that it was taken in to care sometime prior to 2008.  It recovered well and was released back in to the estuary where it has remained ever since.  It seems to do well and moults in to and out of breeding plumage.. qt the moment it is in a moult in to winter eclipse plumage.  I haven't been specifically to look for it for a few years but on Sunday I spotted it off the mouth and decided that I would go and have a look for it one day this week when we had some sun from the right direction and the tide was high.  I wanted to try out my Lumix camera connected to my spotting scope just to see if I could got some results that would be acceptable.  I ought to mention that I am struggling really badly with my cataract too it made everything really difficult to use but here and there, I managed to focus everything by looking through the viewfinder withy my week eye. The pictures look as they they have been cropped by me afterwards but no, this is the way they were captured, they are really quite promising and good enough for me to go back and try for some improvement.  

Earlier I had been "dig-scoping" the mallards and swans just to practice and the results here were better which is very encouraging.