30 Dec 16

The Flash: 12:10 – 12:45

2°C > 5°C: Very odd: fog at The Flash cleared while I was there but it was still foggy when I got to the lake and it stayed foggy until more or less the time I left. Light wind. Bad > poor > moderate visibility

(138th visit of the year)

>60% ice

Notes from here

- Tufted Duck numbers continue to decline

Birds flying over here

None

The counts from the water

- 2 Mute Swans
- 4 Canada Geese
- 1 all white feral goose
- 34 (23♂) Mallard again
- 22 (11♂) Tufted Ducks
- 10 (2♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 4 Moorhens
- 13 Coots
- 94 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Herring Gull

A duck Tufted Duck: this bird has rather extensive white around the base of the bill, recalling a duck (Greater) Scaup. On Scaup the white would be even more extensive and there would, of course, be no ‘tuft’.

The same bird having a good preen.

The light was catching this drake Tufted Duck so that you could see that, depending on the angle, there is both blue and green sheens on the apparently black head. With such a ‘black and white’ contrasting bird I had to play about a bit with the contrast here to show the effect.

This brownhead Goosander looks as if it scowling.

And see: they do have feet! Not often seen out of water.

Not often you can get this close to a Great Crested Grebe.

A misty group of Black-headed Gulls with a single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull on the ice.

Once the mist cleared the same adult Lesser Black-backed Gull looks very different.

The mist clearing away

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Lake: 13:00 – 14:00

(181st visit of the year)

Very small amount of ice

Other notes from today
- now just 2 duck Shoveler
- yet another decline in Tufted Duck numbers
- the 6 Great Crested Grebes were clearly behaving as three pairs today
- the large gulls came and went. I rather hoped that the Iceland Gull that has roosted the past two evenings ‘down the road’ at Belvide might have been tempted in – not so
- party of 10 Goldfinches in trees at W end
and
- no moths on the lamps

Birds noted flying over the lake
None

The counts from the lake area
All counts done ‘in parts’ and some scope for birds to be missed or double-counted but think this is OK
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Gadwall again
- 13 (7♂) Mallard
- 2 (0♂) Shoveler
- 9 (9♂) Pochard
- 17 (10♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe
- 6 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Water Rail (heard only)
- 12 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 56 Black-headed Gulls (see notes)
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in ...........
2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 female Scaup
1 Yellow-legged Gull
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
7 Gadwall
(John Isherwood/Dawn Balmer)

The Flash
5 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Yellow-legged Gull
(Dawn Balmer)

Horsehay Pool
12 Goosander
(Dawn Balmer)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Jim Almond/Chris Ballance)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
9 Great Black-backed Gulls
Water Rail
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Yellow-legged Gull
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Caspian Gull
(Jason)

2006
Priorslee lake
2 Great Crested Grebes
19 Pochard
34 Tufted Ducks
>300 Black-headed Gulls
>298 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
12 Herring Gull
33 Robins
13 Blackbirds
10 Fieldfares
45 Redwings
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee lake
2 Little Grebes 
11 Great Crested Grebes 
1 Cormorant 
2 Mute Swans 
35 Pochard
84 Tufted Duck
243 Coot
c.250 Black-headed Gulls 
c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls 
1 Yellow-legged Gull 
32 Herring Gulls
(Ed Wilson)