Priorslee Lake: 05:55 –09:30
4.0°C > 6.0°C: High cloud, lowering somewhat. Calm. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:14 BST
Priorslee Lake: 05:55 –09:30
(238th visit of the year)
Bird notes from today:
- I tried an 07:10 ‘football’ field count: five Black-headed Gulls, three Wood Pigeons, 15 Magpies. No Pied Wagtails, though 16 had been counted flying S a few minutes earlier.
- No sign of yesterday’s trapped sixth cygnet: nobody I spoke to knew anything about any rescue attempt.
- The large gulls confused me this morning. While on the ‘football’ field I noted 64 flying S a long way to the E and was confident that they were passing. However about 15 minutes later when I went back to the lake there were a suspiciously similar number of birds on the water – 76 birds. Of these 71 were Lesser Black-backed Gulls (40 first-winter birds); and five Herring Gulls (four first-winters). Then these were mostly flushed first by sparring Grey Herons and then a Common Buzzard with birds flying off E. Birds then started to arrive / return from the N with eventually 85 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (53 first-winter birds) and eight Herring Gulls (seven first-winters). So how many individuals?
- Today the Jackdaws were several minutes ahead of the Rooks on their roost dispersal flights: most unusual.
Bird totals:
Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 1 Common Buzzard yet again
- 64 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID (but see notes)
- 52 Wood Pigeons
- 79 Jackdaws
- 96 Rooks
- 16 Pied Wagtails (see notes)
- 1 Meadow Pipit
Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 3 (1) Chiffchaffs
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Gadwall
- 10 (6♂) Mallard
- 12 (4♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons
- 3 Little Grebes
- 7 adult + 2 immatures + 9 juvenile (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Moorhens
- 119 Coots
- 42 Black-headed Gulls
- >85 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: >53 of these first-winter birds (see notes)
- 8 Herring Gulls: seen of these first-winter birds
Pre-dawn sightings on the lamp poles:
- 1 unidentified midge
Only later sighting:
- 1 dead Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus): was very wet, but seemed rather emaciated. No visible wounds
20 minutes later and it was a warning of rain and wind to come.
Another two first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Here the classic rounded wing profile of a flying bird
Meanwhile a Grey Wagtail steps out.
The dead Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus). Just very wet from lying in the wet grass.
(Ed Wilson)
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