The Aldbourne Dabchick

A strange bird on the pond. The village wise man thought hard, and said: dabchick.

Aldbourne people are nicknamed Dabchicks, after the little grebe. BBC Wiltshire tells why. A mysterious bird appeared on the village pond, and nobody could say what it was. A local know-all was fetched to identify the strange creature. After much deliberation he proudly announced that it was nothing more than a dabchick. The village has never been allowed to forget it. A dabchick is simply the little grebe, a small diving bird of ponds. Many Wiltshire places have such nicknames, from the Bradford Gudgeons to the Trowbridge Knobs.