11 Jan 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

Priorslee Lake:  07:00 – 09:35
The Flash:  09:40 – 10:45
Trench Lock Pool:  10:55 – 11:00 // 11:45 – 12:10
Trench Middle Pool:  11:05 – 11:40

9.0°C > 11.0°C:  Some early breaks but cloudy after 10:30. Strong and often gusty SW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:18 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  07:00 – 09:35

(11th visit of the year)

The promised traffic lights in Castle Farm Way have failed to materialise – just lane restrictions so far.

A very breezy morning with nothing apart from gulls and corvids showing well.

Other bird notes:
- All four cygnets flew strongly down the lake with their parents. Could not identify which might have been the previously reported laggard.
- At least 50 Redwings in trees around the Teece Drive gate as I was leaving
- A Reed Bunting was in song at the W end from very early – before the time that birds usually leave the roost (though I saw none leave today).

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 16 Canada Geese: outbound in two groups
- 1 Common Buzzard
- [gulls: see below]
- 1 Stock Dove
- 11 Wood Pigeons only
- c.1000 Jackdaws
- c.50 Rooks

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake:
- 2 Redwings only

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Gadwall
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard again
- 34 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- [no Little Grebes]
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 12 Moorhens
- 68 Coots only

Gulls:

Early arrival:
- Large arrival of c.1000 Black-headed Gulls started at 07:25.
- 48 large gulls arrived before 08:00 separately from the Black-headed Gulls.
counts
- c.1000 Black-headed Gulls
- 37 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 11 Herring Gulls: mostly first-winters

After 08:00 all gulls noted were passing overhead. Often mixed up with birds leaving the lake making accurate numbers impossible
- >250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- >5 Herring Gulls

Nothing on any lamp pole pre dawn: probably too windy.

No other sightings

New bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site.
None

Red sky in the morning can mean wind or rain. Today: wind.

The moon was an unexpected sight, albeit with a thin veil of cloud. This is the Wolf Moon just about 12 hours after full moon and too late for the lunar eclipse seen last night in some parts of the UK.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:40 – 10:45

(10th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- Numbers of large gulls overhead equally difficult to determine here. They were moving on a broad front and swirling around in the wind.
- At least 35 Goldfinches around the island. Perhaps some of these also in the Alders at the top end where there was a Lesser Redpoll with them.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- >220 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 5 Feral Pigeons
- 55 Jackdaws
- 3 Starlings

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 8 Canada Geese
- 34 (22♂) Mallard
- 13 (13♂) Pochard
- 41 (24♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 (4♂) Goosander: 3♂ flew off
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 12 Coots
- 161 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two adults; one first-winter
- 1 Herring Gull: first winter

Other sightings:
- small group of fungus on lawn of The Priorslee

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site:
45      Lesser Redpoll

A landing drake Tufted Duck. Looks quite controlled.

Splash-down less so!

These two adult winter Black-headed Gulls seem to find it funny.

A more sedentary duck Tufted Duck. More of a ‘tuft’ on this duck than on many, though all will show some ‘tuft’.

‘Bad hair day’ for one of these duck Goosanders.

And now for both of them! Moral; always swim in to the wind.

This first-winter Black-headed Gulls shows off its wing-pattern. The black tail-band is less easy to see.

Still struggling with light-levels to get sharp photos. Nevertheless this shot of a first-winter Herring Gull illustrates both the upper- and under- wing pattern caused by the pale inner primaries.

Fungus on the ‘lawn’ of The Priorslee – rather like my own lawn, mainly weeds and moss. Resembles Honey Waxcap (Hygrocybe reidii) though would an unusual date for this Autumn specialist. The lack of any seriously cold weather might explain its late occurrence.

Another fruiting body in the group. The most likely alternative is Common Funnel (Clitocybe gibba).

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  10:55 – 11:00 // 11:45 – 12:10

(4th visit of the year)

I decided on another visit here to see whether any of the gulls flying over Priorslee had come here: they hadn’t, probably because it was rather windy and exposed.

Bird notes from here:
- Once again the Yellow-legged Gull seemed to commute between here and Middle Pool.
- A first-winter Great Black-backed Gull was some reward.
- A couple of ‘catch-ups’ for the year – Collared Dove and Carrion Crow.
- At least 66 Jackdaws playing on the wind to the N.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
None

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 20 Canada Geese
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 6 (3♂) Goosander
- 5 Great Crested Grebes again
- [still no Moorhens]
- 5 Coots
- 63 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 5 Herring Gulls: all first-winters
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: (near) adult
- 1 Great Black-backed Gull: first-winter

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site (in sighting order):
33      Collared Dove
34      Carrion Crow
35      Great Black-backed Gull

Always unexpected-looking when Great Crested Grebes fly. Much more white in the wings than expected. They look very elongated.

At extreme range here is the (same?) putative near adult Yellow-legged Gull

As it takes off we see the dark on the primary coverts confirming that it is not yet fully adult – likely fourth winter. The feet are obviously pink. What colour are the legs? Yellow? Flesh-coloured?

As it passes by the dark on the primary coverts shows well.

Here is a puzzle. The rather indistinct tail-band and spotted uppertail suggest Herring Gull but the inner primaries are not pale. The answer: look at that massive black bill and the rather coarse markings on the back. It is a first-winter Great Black-backed Gull.

Here is our first-winter Great Black-backed Gull in front of a first-winter Herring Gull. The bill-size and the relative coarseness of the markings show clearly.

And here we get a direct comparison of the difference in bulk. I would judge that our Great Black-back is likely a female – a male could well be significantly larger still.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  11:05 – 11:40

(4th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- No sign of a returning flock of Greylag Geese so no Pink-footed Goose.
- Many of the Black-headed Gulls were coming and going: likely more birds involved than in my ‘highest count’ figure.
- The Yellow-legged Gull again. Also two rather different-looking adult Herring Gulls.
- Grey Wagtail again

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 2 Jackdaws

Counts from the water:
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 36 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral Goose-type as usual
- 24 (18♂) Mallard
- 16 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (2♂) Goosanders again
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 15 Moorhens
- 37 Coots
- c.180 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 3 Herring Gulls: two adults; one first-winter
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: (near) adult

No other sightings:

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site:
30      Jackdaw

Direct comparison between an apparent adult Herring Gull (in front); and the putative (near?) adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Same two birds with the comparison not quite so well shown as the angle of light is not quite the same. I am rather surprised that the head of the apparent adult Herring Gull appears quite so ‘clean’ and white, showing no hint of the winter-plumage streaks. Seems an early date to have lost them. Or is it perhaps a Caspian Gull? The bill does look rather parallel-sided on this view. I would like to see the wing-markings in flight before coming to any conclusion.

Some adult Black-headed Gulls are beginning to get some breeding plumage.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Local area
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Scaup
1 Common Gull
(Dave Tromans/Tom Lowe)

2013
Horsehay Pool
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
2 Common Gulls
2000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
20+ Greater Black-backed Gulls
600 Herring Gulls
(Kris Webb and Jim Almond)

2010
Priorslee Lake
5 Bullfinch
4 Goosander
2 Water Rail
Common Snipe
Woodcock
4 Gadwall
Bittern
Peregrine
38 Swans
26 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
333 Coots
c.200 Black-headed Gulls
c.20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
12 Siskins
(Ed Wilson, Martin Grant)

2008
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull
(Paul King)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
11 Pochard
62 Tufted Ducks
5 Goosanders
>1000 Black-headed Gulls
10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
16 Robins
13 Redwings
34 Magpies
378 Jackdaws
348 Rooks
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
c.20 Golden Plover
2 Gadwall
c.1100 Black-headed Gulls
145 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
52 Herring Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
11 Pochard
37 Tufted Duck
226 Coots
1 Water Rail
221 Jackdaws
392 Rooks
12 Siskins
13 Pied Wagtails
3 Reed Buntings
21 Robins
18 Blackbirds
1 Willow Tit
5 Bullfinches
(Ed Wilson)