3.5°C > 5.0°C: Started with low overcast and very dull: began to break after 09:00 and by 10:30 a nice sunny and more or less cloudless morning. Light NW wind. Moderate visibility and hazy start: good later
Sunrise: 08:02 GMT
Remains generally very quiet with not a lot happening
Priorslee Lake: 06:45 – 09:55
(8th visit of the year)
Notes from today:
- Coot numbers significantly lower today
- after I counted 135 Black-headed Gulls arriving from the W another group of 42 birds flew straight through to the SE. Almost all the gulls eventually left that way
- no idea where all the Wood Pigeons were today: just 5 overhead; only 3 seen in the trees
- after my comment about a Magpie refurbishing its nest yesterday this morning I noted a bird calling from a nest long before the main roost started to disperse
- largest count of Jackdaws this year. Today in 5 groups, albeit almost contiguous
- Song Thrushes singing in five locations this morning
- failed to log a single Dunnock today: recently as many as 9 logged with two different birds heard singing. Why none today?
- a Reed Bunting flew away from the W end reeds at 09:40 – that hardly counts as ‘roost dispersal’!
and
- yet again nothing on any of the lamps
No additional species for my year total at this site: still 52
Today’s bird totals
Birds noted flying over / near the lake:
- 7 Greylag Geese outbound
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 42 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 5 Wood Pigeons only
- 3 Collared Doves
- >360 Jackdaws
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 1 Greenfinch
Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- [Magpies not counted]
- 4 Redwings
The counts from the lake area
- 8 + 3 Mute Swans
- 11 Canada Geese
- 12 (7♂) Gadwall
- 15 (8♂) Mallard
- 4 (4♂) Pochard
- 53 (28♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Little Grebe
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 10 Moorhens
- 132 Coots
- c.135 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trench Lock Pool: 10:05 – 10:30 // 11:15 – 11:25
(4th visit of the year)
Notes from here
- when I arrived the resident cob Mute Swan was chasing a visiting pair of adults. Shortly afterwards another adult arrived and he transferred his attention to that. By the time I returned from Middle Pool there were 5 visiting adults and yet another arrived soon after
- 97 of the 99 Canada Geese flew in: a Greylag Goose with them
- Coot numbers seem to be reducing here as well as at Priorslee Lake
- Song Thrush singing here
Birds noted flying over here [apart from the local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws coming and going]
- 27 Canada Geese (en route to Middle Pool)
- 1 Buzzard
- 10 Starlings
New bird species for me here this year were: Common Buzzard, Starling and Song Thrush
The counts from the water
- 6 + 6 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 99 Canada Geese
- 5 (3♂) Mallards
- 1 (1♂) ‘feral’ Mallard
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 51 (27♂) Tufted Ducks
- 9 (4♂) Goosanders
- 2 Cormorants
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens
- 92 Coots
- 16 Black-headed Gulls only.
A distant Common Buzzard. It was in good light and I am quite please that it enlarges quite well.
It did come a little closer.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trench Middle Pool: 10:35 – 11:10
(4th visit of the year)
Notes from here
- Song Thrush in song here as well
and
- at least one different species of fungus sp. found and photographed
Birds noted flying over here
- 1 Buzzard
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
New bird species for me here this year were: Common Buzzard, Jackdaw and Song Thrush
The counts from the water
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 38 Canada Geese
- 21 (16♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) ‘feral’ Mallard
- 20 (12♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 15 Moorhens again
- 43 Coots again
- 38 Black-headed Gulls
Side-elevation of the same group.
Here is the underside.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day..........
2014Priorslee Lake
Velvet Scoter
2 Scaup
(Martin and Ian Grant)
2013
Priorslee Lake
39 Wigeon
8 Gadwall
24 Pochard
74 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
173 Coots
169 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
18 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)
2008
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
(Observer Unknown)