29 Nov 17

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

1.5°C > 3.5°C: A few clouds though mainly clear and frosty in the shelter of the moderate / fresh NNW wind. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 07:55 GMT

Priorslee Lake: 06:20 – 09:45

(146th visit of the year)

Notes from today:
- 16 Canada Geese on the water by 06:40: they left at 07:25
- 2 Cormorants came from the E and looked as if they might land but apparently did not do so. Several minutes later 1 flew high E and then 1 flew low N – were these the same two? Another (?) flew from the E some 10 minutes later and also did not appear to land. Finally 5 quite different birds flew from the far S and away to the NE. So how many different birds?
- just 3 adult Great Crested Grebes seen this morning (it was rather a cold wind to spend much time on the dam-top scanning all the water)
- c.100 Golden Plover circling over fields to very far E again: later c.50 (different birds?) seen flying away to the S
- no Black-headed Gulls on the water early: c.40 flew in from the E in small groups with most leaving very quickly and no more than 12 on the water at any time later
- the single Lesser Black-backed Gull touched down for about 30 seconds and then continued on W
- I flushed at least 25 Magpies out of the main roost c.06:30 – the few leaves still on the trees made the count easier, even in the pre-dawn gloom. This is many fewer than in recent years. Numbers generally increase as winter progresses
- 47 Starlings came out of reeds in the NW area at 07:43
- Robins seem to be taking advantage of the very bright LED street lights along the footpath at the W end: I am flushing birds feeding here in the dark at c.06:30. Of course it is always possible they have always done this and the LED lights have enabled me to see them
- 6 Reed Buntings flew out of the N side reeds together: at least 1 other bird was still calling there
and
- 2 Winter Moths on lamps pre-dawn only

Today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over / near the lake:
- 7 (10?) Cormorants
- 3 Buzzards again
- >150 Golden Plovers
- 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 10 Feral Pigeons (1 single; 1 group)
- 3 Stock Doves
- 16 Wood Pigeons only
- >500 Jackdaws
- 2 Starlings (1 group)
- 13 Fieldfares (3 groups)
- 46 Redwings (5 groups)
- 5 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Greenfinch
- 7 Siskins

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- >25 Magpies
- 47 Starlings
- 26 Redwings
- 6 Reed Buntings

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 16 Canada Geese
- 11 (6♂) Gadwall again
- 25 (14♂) Mallard again
- 6 (4♂) Pochard
- 44 (29♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Grebe again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail heard
- 9 Moorhens
- 161 Coots
- c.40 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher again

My daily sunrise photo over the lake.

.. and the long view.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:50 – 10:45

(102nd visit of the year)

Notes from here
- 21 of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls circling very high over N end: then I saw why – a female (on size) Sparrowhawk with them. When she dived away N the gulls moved off W in a ‘V-formation’
- Green Woodpecker heard calling
- both Nuthatch and Treecreeper seen working the trees in the gloom of ‘squirrel alley’
and another visit to the Ivy in the sun
- >3 wasp sp
- >5 flies of at least 2 species
no hoverflies again

Birds noted flying over
- 1 Sparrowhawk (female)
- 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese
- 1 white feral goose as usual
- 20 (14♂) Mallard
- 26 (10♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 10 Coots again
- 63 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Kingfisher again

The Black-headed Gulls were hassling the Tufted Ducks, trying to steal the food the ducks were bringing to the surface. Here one prepares to pounce.

And again.

Crash!

Try again!

“oh well, I’ll fly off”

A Treecreeper was working the trees in the shade of ‘squirrel alley’. Difficult to freeze the action – here we see the tail, often used as a ‘prop’, wrapped around the trunk.

And here using the prop as its thin bill works the crevices in the bark for morsels.

Onward and upward – always upward in a Treecreeper.

In silhouette we see the very thin and curved bill – ideal for poking in to the bark (Apologies for the poor quality – the poor light meant I was shooting moving birds at 1 / 20th of a second!).

... calling as it goes.

And a Nuthatch showing its ability to move down as well as up.

Yes: a wasp on 29 November.

And for the record: a fly sp. as well.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
6 Gadwall
2 Pochard
2 Teal
1 Shoveler
Shelduck
1 Yellow-legged Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(JW Reeves / John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Goldeneye
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
33 Tufted Ducks
144 Coots
Woodcock
216 Black-headed Gulls
c.480 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
47 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
c.950 Wood Pigeons
16 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
c.560 Jackdaws
81 Rooks
11 Siskins
3 Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood)

2010
Madeley
3 Waxwings
(Pete Nickless)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Drake Pintail
(Martin & Ian Grant)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
28 Pochard
54 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
>1450 Black-headed Gulls
331 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
278 Wood Pigeons
35 Robins
27 Blackbirds
69 Fieldfares
7 Song Thrushes
13 Redwings
1 Siskin
8 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes again
2 Wigeon
2 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
223 Coot
A drake Shoveler
7+ Cormorants
8000 Black-headed Gulls
3500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
7 Herring Gulls
25 Golden Plover
14 Fieldfares
8 Redwings
13 Sky Larks
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)