Location
Sunrise: 06:04 BST
17°C > 19°C: Some breaks to start then clouded up with some light rain as I was leaving. Light / moderate S wind. Very good visibility
Best today were the two Common Sandpipers at the lake – rather a later-than-normal date for me here. Most unusually neither of these birds was heard calling and I stumbled across them more or less by accident.
(82nd visit of the year)
Notes
- most of the geese were away again with, once moor, >70 see arriving while I was at the lake
- 2 juvenile Tufted Ducks seen today
- the additional adult Great-crested Grebe present again
Birds noted flying over
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Feral Pigeon (in addition to resident the birds over St Georges to the N)
- 7 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws
- 4 Starlings
- 1 Goldfinch
Hirundines etc. seen here today
- 14 House Martins
Warblers seen / heard around the water: numbers in brackets are singing birds, though song very sporadic now
- 4 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 Blackcap
The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 13 Canada Geese
- 1 all white feral goose
- 23 (18?♂) Mallard
- 23 (8?♂) + 2 Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 3 + 1 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 + 1 Moorhens again
- 17 + 4 (2? broods) Coots
- 8 Black-headed Gulls (1 juvenile)
(Ed Wilson)
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Priorslee Lake: 07:25 – 09:25
Location
(117th visit of the year)
Notes from today
- c.70 geese noted flying towards The Flash. Behind trees: mainly Canada Geese but at least 10 Greylag Geese
- 2 single Feral Pigeons and then later a party of 18 Racing(?) Pigeons over
- the 5 Swallows in a party with an adult seen feeding a juvenile ‘on the wing’
- the Reed Warbler calling from a dense clump of Greater Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) – which reminds me to note that all the willowherb I could find around the lake this morning was this species. I would expect at least some of the usual rampant Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) (aka Fireweed)
and
- an Agriphila geniculea (Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer) moth on the lamps: new for my year-list
- a Speckled Wood rather surprisingly flushed in such dull conditions: I was reaching for blackberries at the time
- a single wasp sp. and bee sp. were the only other insects on another dull morning
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- c.70 geese (see notes)
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 20 Feral Pigeons
- 52 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw
- 2 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 1 Greenfinch
- 3 Goldfinches
Hirundines etc. seen here today
- 5 Barn Swallows
- 6 House Martins
Warblers seen / heard around the water: numbers in brackets are singing birds, though song very sporadic now
- 6 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (1) Willow Warbler
- 4 (0) Blackcaps again
The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 11 (?♂) Mallard
- 8 (5♂) Tufted Ducks
- 8 + 6 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes once more
- 2 + 1 Moorhens
- 44 + 8 Coots
- 2 Common Sandpipers
- 169 Black-headed Gulls (7 juveniles)
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
An unidentified bee sp.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day in ...........
2014Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here
2012
Priorslee Lake
Peregrine Falcon
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Sandwich Terns
Common Tern
Kingfisher
Tree Pipit
(Ed Wilson)
2005
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
Raven
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson