16 Mar 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 9.0°C: A few early sunny intervals. Moderate south-westerly wind abated for a while before increasing as more cloud arrived. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:22 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:00

(60th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two pairs of Canada Geese throughout. Just after I arrived one of geese set off to hassle the pair of Mute Swans. It did not succeed. I wondered whether it was (optically) short-sighted and mistook the swans for another pair of geese. It was certainly a short-sighted move.
- another pair of Canada Geese flew in. It was the Mute Swans that chased them away.
- *the Mute Swans also had a visiting pair(?) of visitors to chase away which they did within five minutes.
- just one Goosander was not at first light. I did not see it again.
- an adult Black-headed Gull flew through at 07:35. A first-year visited for a few minutes around 08:00.
- two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls dropped in c.08:20, leaving separately.
- a Skylark singing over the fields to the East was heard again despite the weekday traffic noise.
- *the south-side Reed Bunting finally emerged from deep in the reeds to sing from a bush-top.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair flew East
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair flew West
- 1 Herring Gull
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *19 Wood Pigeons
- *1 Sparrowhawk: presumed the same seen on three occasions
- 181 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: see notes
- *4 Mute Swans: see notes
- 12 (8♂) Mallard
- 21 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander: departed
- 5 Moorhens
- *23 Coots
- *5 Great Crested Grebes: yet again
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- no Cormorant
- 2 Grey Herons

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera regelationis

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris
- 1 very small unidentified springtail

Noted later:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 Honey Bee Apis mellifera

An experiment to see how landscape photos work. The best of the sunrise.

Later a weak sun through encroaching cloud.

Two visiting Mute Swans arrive toward the far end of the lake.

The resident cob is quick off the mark and on the warpath.

He soon moved them away.

Both residents had to get involved before the visitors got the hint.

Climbing away making one lap to gain height...

...before heading off the way they came.

This Wood Pigeon flew in good light in front of the camera so it would have been churlish not to have taken its photo.

Not the best of lighting conditions but a few tweaks with the photo editor provides a reasonable image of a female Sparrowhawk...

...as she dashes past. She is significantly larger than the male. He has rufous across his chest.

Yesterday I proved that Carrion Crows are not as black as they seem. Th same is true of Coots.

Two Great Crested Grebes displaying in the distance. I have not seen any do their full dance with weed as an offering so far this year.

A male Reed Bunting giving its undistinguished song. Note the shape of the lower mandible, common to all species of bunting (which includes Yellowhammer). Females have brown heads and less chestnut in the wings.

Not my best: my third Honey Bee Apis mellifera of the year.

Here is a springtail Tomocerus vulgaris sneaking up on an unidentified very small springtail.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:05 – 10:20

(58th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- as yesterday I noted only one adult Great Crested Grebe: the dead body is still in the water.
- one first-year Black-headed Gull, briefly.
- no Blackcaps today: too dull and windy?
- the feeding station was devoid of attendees with a lone Chaffinch looking for non-existent spoils.
- six Siskins were in trees at the top end.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 23 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 22 (16♂) Mallard
- 16 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe (plus the dead body)
- 1 Black-headed Gull

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 3 (2) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps

Of note around the area:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Flies:
- *very many small midges

Plants:
- *Wood Avens Geum urbanum [Herb Bennet]

A calling Common Buzzard from the local wooded area.

Another Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris and likely a queen looking for a nest site. This is a typical individual showing a thin line of colour between the (off-) white tail and the black abdomen. Workers of this species have whiter tails and are not safely separable from White-tailed Bumblebees B. lucorum. That species is not thought to occur in our area.

One of very many midges that were annoying everyone in areas sheltered from the breeze. Species unknown.

This is Wood Avens Geum urbanum also known as Herb Bennet. My records show an earliest date for this flower as 24 April. NatureSpot notes "May to September" as the flowering period. Not sure why it is so early.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
1 Iceland Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull.
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Kittiwake
2 adult Little Gulls
(J Reeves / Jim Almond / Andy Latham)

2011
Priorslee Lake
13 Pochard
18 Tufted Duck
5 Great Crested Grebe
12+ Sand Martin
3 Chiffchaff
17 Pied Wagtails
23 Linnets
11 Greenfinches
(Mike Cooper, (Martin Grant, Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
2 Great Crested Grebe
c.12 Tufted Duck
4 Teal
2 Chiffchaff singing
1 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock
30 Tufted Duck
6 Sand Martins
3 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
( Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
7 Great Crested Grebe
1 Heron
6 Gadwall
19 Tufted Duck
2 Reed Buntings
( Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebe
15 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
3 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
46 Golden Plover
4 Stock Dove
281 Wood Pigeon
27 Wren
38 Robin
21 Blackbird
1 Redwing
4 Chiffchaff singing
3 Jay
35 Magpie
159 Jackdaw
3 Reed Bunting
( Ed Wilson)

15 Mar 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 8.0°C: Broken medium-level cloud dissipated; increasing amounts of lower cloud developing. Increasing southerly wind eventually gusting fresh. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:25 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:40 – 08:30

(62nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- three pairs of Canada Geese flew off, all to the East this morning leaving one pair behind. These saw off a later visiting pair that was accompanied by a Greylag Goose. An earlier arriving pair of Greylags had been ignored with these soon leaving of their own volition,
- a brief visit by a single Lesser Black-backed Gull at 06:00 was the only gull on the water.
- no Great (White) Egret. Two Grey Herons seemed to be getting on OK.
- of the Jackdaws one large group almost immediately disappeared below the tree-level even from my elevated vantage point. So many more that I have noted I am sure.
- no Reed Buntings heard or seen.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Greylag Goose: flew West
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 30 Wood Pigeons
- >140 Jackdaws: see notes
- 43 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 10 Canada Geese: see notes
- 3 Greylag Geese: see notes
- 2 Mute Swans
- *13 (9♂) Mallard
- 38 (29♂) Tufted Duck
- *4 (0♂) Goosander: again
- 7 Moorhens
- 22 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes: again
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- no other gulls
- 2 Cormorant
- *2 Grey Herons
- no Great (White) Egret

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 9 (9) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Flies:
- *1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- *1 male small plumed midge

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Noted later:

Moths:
- *1 Shoulder Stripe Earophila badiata

I thought there would be too much cloud for a decent sunrise.

Wrong!

Spectacular for a short time.

A pleasing view with the white flowers of Blackthorn Prunus spinosa ; the red of what I believe to be Red Stem Dogwood Cornus stolonifera [there are other cultivars]; next to a clump of reeds that yesterday held a singing Reed Bunting. He was not there today.

A well-synchronised pair of Mallard.

I am still perplexed by this Goosander. I am sure a female should not show so much white in the folded wings. As far as I know a first-year drake should not still have a brown head at this date.

Here are two real brownheads.

And here are all three with the tone of the brown on the head depending on the angle of the light.

A very friendly Grey Heron. This view is straight from the camera which was not fully zoomed-in.

Doesn't look so friendly when zoomed-in and enlarged!

"I am standing up straight"

"I am sure I saw something move".

"It was there". I stood as still as the heron for at least five minutes and my arms ached holding the camera ready for action. Nothing happened. The heron eventually wandered off. So did I.

Full plumes at this time of year.

And you thought Carrion Crows were black. Some of its wing-feathers have seen better days and there are several months to go before its regular moult.

This is likely its partner. Often with this species they fly well apart.

A surprise find on the Teece Drive fence was this smart Shoulder Stripe moth Earophila badiata.

Not much on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn. On the left a springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type. On the right a male small plumed midge.

A winter cranefly Trichocera sp. The only species in this group easily identifiable from photos has a dark mark in the wing. Not here.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:35 – 10:05

(57th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- just as I was about to leave seven Tufted Duck flew in: probably refugees from the Balancing Lake displaced as the sailing club arrived? I was unable to sex these.
- only one adult Great Crested Grebe: the dead body still in the water.
- two Black-headed Gulls: one adult and one first-year.
- what was probably the same first year Herring Gull as yesterday was present throughout.
- two Blackcaps singing: one at the top end seemed to be passing through; the other was near the feeding station and perhaps one of those that spent the Winter in the area.
- the feeding station was devoid of attendees.
- *a Lesser Redpoll was seen along the West side. What I think was a different bird was heard flying over.
- *Siskins were in trees above the feeders and at the bottom end.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaw
- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Noted on / around the water:
- 26 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 24 (19♂) Mallard
- 29 (>13♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 7 Moorhens only
- 29 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe (plus the dead body)
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: a first year.

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps

Around the area:

Nothing else of note

A Long-tailed Tit looks down upon me.

Not interested.

A Lesser Redpoll. Its portrait spoilt by a shadow across its face and dirt on its all- yellow bill.

The daily Siskin photo.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Horsehay Pool
4 Great Crested Grebes
20 Goosander
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Paul King)

14 Mar 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

1.0°C > 8.0°C: Clear sky. Light north-westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:27 GMT

Despite the low starting temperature I noted no frost.

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 08:45

(61st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a brief visit by a single Black-headed Gull was the only gull on the water.
- no Cormorants in the water: a single flew high over.
- a / the Great (White) Egret flew in at 07:45 – much later than usual.
- a Skylark was heard singing from the fields to the East: easier to hear on a weekend with less traffic. Unusual for this date was another heard calling as it flew East overhead.
- a Sand Martin arrived c.08:25, hawking insects high over the water.
- a Redwing left a roost along the North side.
- of the Jackdaws a group of c.125 was the only large party seen. Very few Rooks noted: they may have passed before I arrived.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: flew East
- 2 Greylag Geese: flew East
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 51 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Skylark
- c.238 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks only
- 2 Lesser Redpolls: singles

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: of these two pairs flew off West separately
- 2 Mute Swans
- 11 (7♂) Mallard
- 32 (25♂) Tufted Duck
- *4 (0♂) Goosander
- 8 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- no other gulls
- no Cormorant
- *1 Grey Heron: departed
- 1 Great (White) Egret: arrived

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- *11 (8) Chiffchaffs

On the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Nothing noted 
A combination of overnight rain and cold temperature kept everything away

Later:

Nothing of note

Not much colour in the sunrise today.

The Grey Heron departing. It needs to get its toe-nails cut.

Three of the four brownhead Goosanders stayed tucked up in the south-east corner.

One of eleven Chiffchaffs I noted around the lake today.

Note the pink lower mandible: the similar-looking Willow Warbler has a dark bill (and a very different song).

Did I mention song?

One of nine Song Thrushes I noted today. Only six of them were singing so perhaps nesting duty calls. This was one of the non-singing birds.

Camera-shy too.

(Blurred) plane of the day. This is a Dassault Falcon 6X, the newest model in the French Manufacturer's range. It can carry up to 14 passengers with a range of just over 10,000 Kilometres. This aircraft is operated by Albinati Aeronautics and is registered in Malta (for tax reasons?). It is descending here in to Oxford Airport having departed from Basseterre on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. It later flew on to Milan. You could have one too if you have a spare $50 million (plus running costs).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:50 – 10:15

(56th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a drake (Common) Teal was heard calling but not located.
- two adult Great Crested Grebe again: the dead body still in the water.
- *a single Black-headed Gull, briefly
- the Long-tailed Tit nest I noted a few days ago seems to be no more. Probably the wind.
- at least four Redwings flew out of trees near the Priorslee Academy.
- the feeding station was only being used by a few Siskins.
- a few other Siskins were in trees at the top-end.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 14 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 25 (18♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) (Common) Teal
- 25 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- 29 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes (plus a dead body)
- *1 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: immature flew off; *a different(?) first year arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 5 (4) Chiffchaffs

Otherwise noted around the area:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Beetles:
- *1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

The only Black-headed Gull here today. An adult, not quite in breeding plumage. It is sitting at an unusual angle and I did wonder whether it was unwell. It later flew strongly.

If I just...

...power...

...down (nice nails by the way!)...

 ...I can dive in.

 That was fun. I'll do it again!

Glug.

It didn't drown and here it is, revealed as a first year Herring Gull.

Nesting time. A Carrion Crow with material. Did it steal it from somebody else's nest as they often do?

By my standard a good photo of a Goldcrest trying to hide.

Would you believe a 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata?

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Iceland Gull
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Caspian Gull
1 Common Gull.
(Tom Lowe, J Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Chiffchaff singing
4 Siskin
1 Willow Tit
(Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
3 Lapwing
2 Green Woodpecker
4+ Skylark singing
(Martin Grant)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Pochard
34 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Kingfisher
4 Redwing
3 Chiffchaffs singing
57 Magpies
1 Brambling
10 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
3 Little Grebes
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
7 Swans
6 Gadwall
2 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
77 Coots
1 Common Gull
253 Jackdaws
Linnet
9 Reed Buntings
Willow Tit
Siskin
( Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Chiffchaff
25 Linnet
4 Lapwing
(John Isherwood)

Trench Pool
1 Water Rail
(John Isherwood)

2007
Priorslee Lake
19 Tufted Duck
4 Stock Dove
25 Wren
28 Robin
25 Blackbird
7 Song Thrush
2 Redwing
7 Chiffchaff singing
41 Magpie
142 Jackdaw
5 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
5 Great Crested Grebes
7 Pochard
43 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
86 Coots
1 Water Rail
176 Jackdaws
26 Blackbirds
41 Redwings
20 Greenfinches
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)