The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
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Taking Time to Live Well

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Illustration by Zuza Misko

Nature | Waterfowl Valentines

Iona Bower February 14, 2025

You dancing? You asking?… All good relationships start with a bit of flirting, even in the
natural world

Mute swans entwine together to form heart-shapes with their graceful necks, jackdaws preen each other, and great crested grebes dance.

Typically, only faithful for a season (although there are exceptions to the rule, as there often are in the animal kingdom), the great crested grebe (pictured above) is intense when it comes to first impressions. Meeting a potential mate, the birds rise up to mirror each other’s moves, shaking their rust-coloured ruff as they bow their heads. The crescendo of their dance is a charge towards each other, waving water weed, before coming together to hold the same piece of weed in their beaks.

And the common crane is a real flirt. Harsh, honking calls float across the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire as the UK’s tallest birds show off their courtship choreography. Their head bobbing, wing stretching, and jumping is contagious – when one pair start, others quickly join in, the flock turning into a flash mob of long legs, red crests and spilling tail feathers.

The extract above is taken from our feature ‘Love is All Around’ by Jeni Bell, from our February issue. Read more love stories from the animal kingdom from page 50.

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More from our February issue…

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Fun | Lost Library Books
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Feb 22, 2025
How To | Keep a Nature Diary
Feb 22, 2025
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Feb 18, 2025
Wellbeing | Eye Spy Glimmers
Feb 18, 2025
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Feb 14, 2025
Nature | Waterfowl Valentines
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Playlist | Tender
Jan 24, 2024
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Feb 13, 2021
Recipe: Peanut butter jammie dodgers
Feb 13, 2021
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InNature Tagsissue 152, birds, Valentine's Day, love, nature
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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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