Cliffe 11/01/23

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I started at the North Quarry though this was fairly quiet, with four Goldeneye the most notable birds. The fields at West Court Farm were then checked, with 22 Curlew of note there.

Moving on via Brett's the Timber Lake had a good assemblage of ducks, geese and Lapwing on the spit. The geese included 37 Barnacles, probably from the Dutch reintroduction scheme, some of the birds having neck tags. The Barnacle Geese soon flew off and after circling around for several minutes eventually landed on nearby Higham Marsh.

Whilst viewing the Alpha Pool the weather took a turn for the worst, with skies darkening before rain started and the wind increased in strength. I almost gave up but could see lighter skies to the west so stuck it out and the rain became lighter, then stopped. This proved fortuitous as a Great Northern Diver, Slavonian Grebe, and four Red-breasted Merganser (two drakes) were seen in the next hour. Two Green Sandpiper also flew past.

Barnacle Geese on the Timber Lake

Red-breasted Mergansers on the Alpha Pool


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