Crane and black terns

Today, 21 May 2011, to Zouweboezem nature reserve.

Before we arrived there: hares in a meadow. An Egyptian goose standing on a lamppost.

Near the entrance of Zouweboezem reserve: garden warbler and greenfinch singing.

Pied wagtail. Sedge warbler singing from a treetop.

A bluethroat on a reed stem.

Two shelducks flying. Cuckoos calling.

A purple heron, a rare species nesting here, flies past.

Sounds of chiffchaff, willow warbler, pheasant, edible frog.

A male reed bunting on a reed stem.

Savi’s warbler singing.

Then, a black tern nesting colony. Another rare species which makes this reserve famous. They are nesting on artificial nests between yellow water-lily flowers.

This is a Dutch video on helping black terns nesting in the Wieden nature reserve.

This is a black tern video from Sweden.

Black tern nests and carp: here.

A jay. A common tern flies past, showing it is a bit bigger than the black terns.

A male and a female common pochard, resting between the yellow water-lilies.

A moorhen. A great crested grebe.

A male tufted duck. Redshank sound.

Near the hide: Canada and grey-lag geese.

Then, something unusual happens. A crane flies overhead. This is a very rare breeding species in the Netherlands; and it is late for spring migration.

Tufted loosestrife flowering.

A marsh warbler singing.

Spear thistle. Ground-ivy. Creeping buttercup.

A whitethroat sings.

So does a grasshopper warbler.

In the grass, a spider web with lots of dewdrops. Its builder is present: an Agelena labyrinthica spider.

Meadow buttercup. English oak.

First, a male marsh harrier; then, a white stork flies above the meadow.

Lesser spearwort.

Two black-tailed godwits standing together on top of a fence.

Reed warbler singing.