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Sunday 24 April 2016

Another Early Start

Cleveland Lakes Nature Reserve
Location

Another early start at Twitchers Gate (6:00am - 8:30am). When I arrived it was very cloudy and by 7:10 the rain began to fall, which saw 200+ hirundine drop in plus a Common Tern. The female Marsh Harrier appeared at 7:33 quartering the reed beds beyond the scrape, before heading north towards Pit 95. Other highlights were 4 Little Egret, 1 Shelduck, a drake Shoveler, a pair of Red-crested Pochard, 3 Lapwing, 6 Black-tailed Godwit on the scrape along with a Whimbrel, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Common Tern, a Cuckoo, a Nightingale singing, a Carrion Crow "hovering" above the water and picking something up off the surface and also a Raven again.

Birds Recorded: Great Crested Grebe, 8 Cormorant, 4 Little Egret, 3 Grey Heron, 8 Mute Swan, 3 Greylag Geese, 3 Canada Geese, 1 Shelduck, Mallard, 1 drake Shoveler, a pair of Red-crested Pochard, Tufted Duck, 1 female Marsh Harrier, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, 3 Lapwing, 6 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Common Tern, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, 1 Cuckoo, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Sedge Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, 1 Jay, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 1 Raven, Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and 1 Reed Bunting.

Also 2 Rabbits and a Black Swan

The view from Twitchers Gate at 6:00am.

A record shot of the female Marsh Harrier over the pit..

And a short video of her as makes her way across the Pit. In the background a Chiffchaff singing and then a Common Sandpiper.

When the rain fell so did 200+ hirundine

In amongst the Swallows and Sand Martins were a few House Martins

The Mute Swan was also getting good close-ups of them as well

Not the best of images, but it does show clearly the difference between a House Martin (top) and the one and half Sand Martins below.

A fly-by Common Tern passes through

And finally how many different bird species can you hear in this video.
I have listed the ones I could hear at the bottom of this page

CWP Pit 95
Location

Black-headed Gull, 2 Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, 1 Cuckoo, Sand Martin, Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 3 Song Thrush, Sedge Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Reed Bunting.

Also 2 Muntjac and several Rabbits

When the sun came out so did the warblers.....

.....this one lurking about in the hawthorn above is a male Blackcap






My list so far from the Video above: Nightingale, Song Thrush, Sedge Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Common Whitethroat and Cuckoo.