19 Oct 17

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.5°C > 11.0°C: Low cloud and mist. Light / moderate SE breeze. Moderate / poor visibility

Sunrise: 07:40 BST

Priorslee Lake: 06:50 – 09:10

(123rd visit of the year)

Notes from today:
- the cygnets did their usual figure-of-eight flight. Later the whole family went for a short flight together
- yesterday’s Eurasian Wigeon gone
- now 4 drake and 3 duck Gadwall
- a Song Thrushes had a quiet sing the morning
and
- just 2 examples of the November Moth group on the lamps

Another flowering plant I missed from Sunday’s ‘mid-month’ hunt
- Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris)

On with today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over the lake: (all totals affected by low cloud / restricted visibility)
- 35 Canada Geese (3 groups outbound)
- 16 Wood Pigeons
- c.620 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks again
- 6 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit
- 16 Redwings (3 groups)
- 1 Chaffinch
- 1 Greenfinch
- 17 Goldfinches (2 groups)
- 2 Linnets

Warblers seen or heard today
None

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans as usual
- 7 (4♂) Gadwall
- 16 (8♂) Mallard
- 31 (16♂) Tufted Ducks
- 5 + 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 136 Coots
- c.100 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher

Not helpful conditions for photography this morning. This I identified as Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris). Usually a much more robust plant, no doubt this one is suffering by being very much ‘end of season’. Clues to it not being Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) are the lack of larger petals on the outer-most flowers in each umbel; the spreading nature of the ‘head’; and the toothed leaflets. Lesser Water-parsnip (Berula erecta) is very similar but almost always grows with its feet in water at the edges of lakes and rivers. It also flowers in Spring and early Summer.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 09:45

(90th visit of the year)

Notes from here
- almost all the geese must have still been out in the fields
- at least 10 Blackbirds in the hawthorns near The Priorslee pub

Bird noted flying over
- 2 Wood Pigeons

Warblers noted
None

The counts from the water
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese only
- 1 white feral goose again
- 30 (21♂) Mallard
- 51 (21♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 5 Moorhens again
- 10 Coots again
- 14 Black-headed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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

2009
Priorslee Lake
63 Mute Swan
7 Wigeon
14 Pochard
26 Tufted Duck
c.600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
6 Herring Gull
1 Yellow Legged Gull
27 Redwings
3 Fieldfare
2 Willow Tits
(Mike Cooper / Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
>100 Tufted Duck
2 Water Rail
107 Redwings
176 Fieldfare 
19 Siskins
4 Sky Larks 
3 Meadow Pipits 
2 Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Shoveler
37 Redwing
1 Fieldfare
250+ Starlings in the roost
11 Pochard
48 Tufted Duck
202 Coot
5 Moorhen
(Ed Wilson)