Spoonbill, harrier harried away, godwits

This 2015 video is about the Polders Poelgeest nature reserve in the Netherlands. It shows a spoonbill walking past black-tailed godwits resting on migration.

Today, to the Polders Poelgeest.

On my way, near the Heempark, a greenfinch singing.

A bit further, on the edge of Oud Poelgeest woodland, a singing chiffchaff. And flowers: lesser celandine; wood anemone; dandelion; daffodils; forget-me-not.

Near the entrance of the Polders: grey lag geese swimming. On a meadow behind the water, barnacle geese grazing. Canada geese in the water. An Egyptian geese couple flying.

Black-headed gulls. I meet some people knowledgeable about birds. They say that others have seen a Mediterranean gull. And a cattle egret. Both really south European birds, fairly rare in the Netherlands. I did not see these two species today. But there were lots of other special birds.

Like a spoonbill flying close to the entrance. I heard that about six spoonbills now nest in the Huys te Warmont woodland reserve not far away. They nest in the grey heron colony. They quarrel with the herons; but not as badly as happened when a white stork couple tried to nest among the grey herons there years ago. The herons then stole the storks’ branches. Grey herons and white storks nest at roughly the same time. Spoonbills usually later, so there is less chance of conflict.

I also met some people not so knowledgeable about birds. One of them asked me: What is that big bird on that small island? ‘A Canada goose‘. They were very grateful with that reply.

A carrion crow. A northern lapwing on a small muddy island in the southern lake. A mallard couple.

Tufted ducks resting on a bank.

Then, a highlight. A marsh harrier being driven away by four jackdaws.

Ground-ivy flowers.

Two lesser black-backed gulls on a southern lake island.

A coot and a great cormorant swimming.

In the northern lake: over a dozen northern shovelers, both males and females.

Five black-tailed godwits. A bit further, about twelve more godwits. Very probably the Icelandic subspecies, waiting here till the weather in Iceland will be warm enough.

A reed warbler sings. It is the first time this year that this song is heard in this reserve. Probably, the bird has just arrived back from spring migration from Africa.

A great black-backed gull cleanses its feathers. Not a common species here. Next to it, two young herring gulls: a more usual sight in this reserve.

Behind the gulls, four avocets foraging in shallow water.

This video from Italy shows avocets (and black-winged stilts).

A shelduck couple lands on the lake.

Two mute swans at their nest on an island.

A moorhen.

A gadwall couple.

Teal, both males and females.

A grey heron, later a white stork, flying near the railway.

A reed bunting sings.

A northern lapwing drives a magpie away.

Edible frog sound.

On the northern meadow, a foraging starling. And an oystercatcher couple.

A wood pigeon on a meadow on the western side of the northern lake.

A bit further, near a farm, swan geese. Swan geese and grey lag geese are the only two geese species which have been domesticated (swan geese in China).

Near the exit: a male common pochard swims. A grey heron flies. Coltsfoot flowers.