Flight period

Most active during early spring and summer but scream calls can be heard at other times of year too.

Abundance

Scarce to locally common.

Calls

Two call types

1 – trill or song

A fast trill, usually preceded by 3 or so higher pitched “pips”. The call is quite similar to that of Whimbrel. Little Grebe trills are often slightly slower, longer and sometimes less regularly spaced than Whimbrel calls. The key difference is the pips preceding Little Grebe trills. The pips can sometimes be given in isolation.

2 – scream calls

These scream calls can be given single or often in pairs.

Confusion species

Whimbrel