What was thought to be a dead duck found in northern Scotland has turned out to be rare Slavonian grebe from Iceland. The animal was discovered last week by a local traffic warden on the banks the River Ness in the central part of the city of Inverness. The warden reported the incident to the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) Scotland.
The glebe had a tag around its leg, which wildlife officers said revealed something unexpected: it had travelled all the way from Iceland.
Stuart Benn, a conservation officer for RSPB Scotland, told the media, “This is an interesting discovery as it confirms that some birds from the Icelandic population spend the winter in Scottish waters and that the Moray Firth is important for these grebes as they are for many other species of marine birds,” the BBC reports.
He added, “The Slavonian grebe is a very rare breeding bird in Scotland and found only in a handful of lochs in the Highlands. Unfortunately, the numbers are going down.”