Priorslee Lake: 07:25 – 09:45
Sunrise: 08:05 GMT
-2°C > +2°C: Fine and frosty with thin mainly high cloudy making it rather hazy. Light E wind. Moderate visibility
(164th visit of the year)
c.15% ice
No real highlight today
Other notes from today
- largest Mallard count of the year: presumed arrived from shallower pools now frozen over
- many of the approaching Black-headed Gulls looked at the ice and carried on: others were happy to land on the ice or adjacent open water
- small movement of Wood Pigeons E this morning with 151 birds in 8 groups. Single Stock Doves and a few Feral Pigeons in with them (a few other Wood Pigeons overhead as well)
- 1 Great Tit in full song
- Mistle Thrush also singing again
and
- no moths on the lamps today
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 24 Canada Geese
- 48 Black-headed Gulls
- 59 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 8 Feral Pigeons (single + 1 group)
- 3 Stock Doves (singles)
- 159 Wood Pigeons
- 32 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails
- 4 Fieldfare (1 group)
- 5 Redwings (2 groups)
- 4 Greenfinches
- 4 Goldfinches
- >9 Siskins
- 3 Linnets
- 1 Yellowhammer
Birds leaving roost around lake
- [Magpies left their roost before I arrived]
- 8 Redwings
- 10 Linnets (in addition to the overflights)
The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 2 (1?) Gadwall still here
- 3 (2?) (Common) Teal
- 35 (22?) Mallard
- 2 (1?) Shovelers
- 8 (6?) Pochard
- 58 (33?) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Water Rails again
- 5 Moorhens
- 53 Coots
- c.70 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
The very red sunrise.
Later the cloud-effects better: not as red.
Record shot of 2 drake and 1 duck Teal. The drake in the centre is showing his green speculum well.
Slightly less fuzzy.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trench Lock Pool: 10:25 – 11:15
(9th visit of the year)
Velvet Scoter still present but not allowing close approach. There seems to be general agreement that this bird is an immature drake
One of the local birdwatchers told me the number and variety of gulls has increased since the opening of the tip / recycling centre at Hortonwood
c.25% ice
Other notes
- a drake Goosander made several circuits overhead and left to the E
- 23 of the Black-headed Gulls were on the lamps above the A442
- some gulls were coming and going: the counts were taken at 11:00
- a Pied Wagtail on the north bank was, surprisingly, my first of the year here
The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 15 Canada Geese
- 30 (17?) Mallard
- 4 (4?) Shoveler
- 48 (19?) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (1?) Velvet Scoter
- 9 Moorhens
- 50 Coots exactly
- 108 Black-headed Gulls
- 138 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 12 Herring Gulls
- 1, possibly 2, Yellow-legged Gull
One of the four drake Shovelers broke cover to allow this shot.
The Velvet Scoter is still present.
The Velvet Scoter reacting to a low-flying gull! It does depend on the angle of the light: however it seems to me that this bird had more brown in the bill than it had a week ago. It must surely be a 1st winter drake.
For the record: a silhouette of the Goosander overhead. Identifiable in this photo by the bill shape (a Red-breasted Merganser is similar; is most unlikely inland; and would almost certainly show a wispy crest).
This is a really heavily marked adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gull: about as dark as they come.
Compare with this much paler individual.
A Herring Gull departing: probably a 4th winter bird – the slight dark mark on the 6th primary would not be present on a full adult.
What I take to be a winter adult Yellow-legged Gull: very smart with no head-streaking and slightly darker mantle than typical Herring Gulls. The bill does not look large-enough for a Caspian Gull, though I remain rather puzzled by the extensive area of white in the folded primaries. The bird immediately behind it is a 2nd winter large gull and may also be a Yellow-legged Gull. It looks rather grey on the mantle and the streaking is mainly confined to the lower part of the neck. The other birds are all adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
A much more typical colour on the mantle of this 1st winter Herring Gull – the all-black bill ages it, otherwise it almost looks like some 2nd winter birds.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in ...........
2015Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here
2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here
2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall.
9 Pochard
44 Tufted Ducks
1 Goldeneye
158 Coots
9 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
27 Redwings
4 Fieldfares
(Ed Wilson)
Priorslee Flash
7 Pochard
71 Tufted Duck
5 Goosander
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)
2011
Priorslee Lake
5 Adult Great Black-backed Gulls
(John Isherwood)
2009
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
36 Swans
15 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
1 Woodcock
300 Coots
c.1500 Black-headed Gulls
5 Stock Doves
5 Redwings
c.35 Goldfinches
c.10 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
7 Pochard
58 Tufted Ducks
>1000 Black-headed Gulls
>2350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
20 Robins
20 Blackbirds
c.40 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
6 Redwings
2 Willow Tits
190 Jackdaws
278 Rooks
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Wigeon
12 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
239 Coot
Golden Plover
c.1600 Black-headed Gulls
397 Jackdaws
261 Rooks
2 Meadow Pipits
3 Redwings
16 Robins
24 Blackbirds
62 Fieldfares
15 Wrens
2 Willow Tits
Redpolls
Siskins
(Ed Wilson)