12 Dec 17

Priorslee: The Flash and the Lake

-4.5°C > -1.5°C: A fine, crisp and cold start; clouding at high level from the W. Lying snow. Almost calm. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 08:12 GMT

With -12°C at 06:00 I decided to leave it a while

Priorslee Lake: 12:00 – 13:40

(158th visit of the year)

>90% ice with two patches of open water: one along the sheltered N side; the other in the centre where the water is deepest

Notes from today:
- now 5 additional adult Mute Swans. Yesterday’s 4 and another. The residents were happy in their patch of open water and left the others alone to crash about in the mushy ice near the dam
- yesterday’s Wigeon gone: two drake Teal instead
- Gadwall numbers much reduced
- the Cormorant was a juvenile. Perhaps it had never encountered ice before: it made a spectacular crash-landing with wings akimbo and beak scraping along the ice
- 2 Kingfishers together flushed out of the Wesley Brook: disappeared towards The Flash but they were not there
- very little overhead: the party of Greenfinches is unusual these days
and
- nothing on the lamps again

Today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over / near the lake:
- 26 Greylag Geese (1 group, outbound)
- 17 Canada Geese (2 groups, outbound)
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Buzzard
- 1 Kestrel (female)
- 4 Fieldfares
- 14 Greenfinches

No roosts counts.

The counts from the lake area
NB: all counts, especially of Canada Geese, Tufted Duck and Coots are ‘best effort’: a mass of swirling bodies at times made accurate counts almost impossible
- 7 + 3 Mute Swans
- c.60 Canada Geese
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall
- 2 (2♂) Teal
- 34 (19♂) Mallard
- 12 (9♂) Pochard
- 74 (40♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Moorhens
- c.190 Coots
- 41 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

One of the two open water areas with Canada Geese, Mallard, Tufted Ducks and Coots all obvious.

The reason the numbers of Canada Geese and Coots was hard to obtain with complete accuracy: these birds were all chasing around.

A reflective Mute Swan.

So now I can read the ring: I assume this is one of the additional Mute Swans that was present yesterday.

Two drake Teal asleep in the foreground. A Little Grebe in the middle of the open water.

“Who me?”. This immature Cormorant had a spectacular crash-landing when it failed to notice it was ice. Not sure why it is standing on one foot – not something I can recall Cormorants doing normally.

The Coots set off across the ice between the two open areas: the one on the left coming to grief.

A better idea: use the wings to add stability.

A male Blackbird in the snow – not much snow in view sadly.

Does not seem to be too many butterflies on this Buddleia and I doubt there will be for a while.

Where the low winter sun cannot reach the snow was frozen hard on to the vegetation and it looked much like yesterday – stunning.

The rocks on the dam-face look quite benign with their contours rounded.

Where the sun reached yesterday most of the snow fell off the vegetation. The overnight hard-frost then added this rime ice to the reeds ...

... and here to a bulrush ...

... and rime ice on these blackberry leaves ...

... even the snow has rime ice ...

... and even the bare seed-heads of the Common Hogweed umbels have lost their snow and are also frosted.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 11:00 – 11:45 // 13:55 – 14:30

(110th visit of the year)

Just one patch of open water
Several trees on the island look as if they might fall under the weight of snow, further reducing the cover on the fast-eroding island

Notes from here
- could not find the Mute Swan cygnet
- hard to be certain about numbers of Canada Geese: there certainly were 41 when I first arrived. Many of these flew off. Later two parties flew in which may or may not have been some of the same birds
- c.40 Tufted Duck came from the W (the lake?), circled a few times, concluded there was nowhere to go and left to the W again
- 2 Collared Doves strutting about on the ice – not seen any of these here for a couple of weeks
- 1 Skylark flew over again
- a few Redwings in the trees – mainly singles
- a party of 15 Goldfinches in the Alders

Birds noted flying over
- 3 Greylag Geese
- >40 Tufted Ducks (see notes)
- 1 Buzzard
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Jackdaw
- 1 Skylark again

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 37 Greylag Geese
- >41 Canada Geese (see notes)
- 1 white feral goose as usual
- 41 (27♂) Mallard
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 70 Black-headed Gulls
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

A miscellany here. The head of a Canada Goose just makes it on the left, all the other geese being Greylags. Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls abound. Asleep and not at all obvious are two Great Crested Grebes, close to being ice-bound.

Some of the group of Tufted Ducks that came and inspected the water – and then flew off. On some of the drakes we can see the ‘tufts’ blowing in the wind. Note too the spread tail of one bird – no doubt to help it avoid an aerial collision with a neighbour.

Not sure what this Moorhen has found on the ice – looks as if it being sick, which I am sure it wasn’t. The nails on the toes look useful for coping with the ice.

Not everyday you can see the red mark on the legs of this species. Not sure I realised the legs were patterned yellow and grey.

How come Black-headed Gulls can stand on the ice (must reread the book “Why do Penguins Feet not Freeze”).

May need the wings to help with the balance.

Standing on one leg to halve the heat-loss is clever – IF you can keep your balance.

 Easy-peasy.

Strutting across the patterns in the ice.

Nothing like a bathe in some icy water. Perhaps they come from Finland: but where is the sauna?

Two Collared Doves strut around on the ice.

What we need for the Christmas card: a Robin in the snow.

I’ve tried for several days to find a Robin in the snow. Rather like No.11 buses you find one and ...

Some of the island vegetation collapsing under the snow.

And from the other side.

Some snow vistas from The Flash: this along the west side.

And through the wooded area in the north west.

The icy sheen of the lake, looking south as cloud begins to encroach from the west.

Picnic anyone?

Looking up what I know as squirrel alley. We see another branch has been broken off under the weight of snow.

I’m on the news! Since this helicopter is kept at Redhill in Surrey there must have been a good story in our weather. As I don’t have a television I have no idea what they might have been after.

Even stranger this Norwegian-registered Super Puma helicopter is painted in the colours of the Icelandic Coast Guard. What was that searching for at Priorslee? Polar Bears? (I know Polar Bears don’t occur in Iceland: don’t be so fussy).
(Ed Wilson)

Between The Flash and the lake

I then walked to the lake (and back). Another Robin in the snow.

And a Great Tit also in the snow.

Anything a Robin can do ... this male Bullfinch also vies to be on a Christmas card.

“Why can’t I be on a card?” A male Chaffinch is not quite so colourful.

“I’m best and I’m traditional: me first”

(Ed Wilson)

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

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Scaup (imm/fem)
4  Pochard
2 Teal
2 Goosanders
101 Tufted Duck
Adult Yellow-legged Gull
c.478 Lesser Black-backed
c30 Herring
c.5 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 Water Rail 
245 Coots
18 Fieldfare
201 Redwings
2 Siskins
(Ed Wilson/Gary Crowder)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Yellow-legged Gull.
Great Black-backed Gull
2 Gadwall
2 Teal
45 Tufted Ducks
1 Goosander
10 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
(Ed Wilson/Martin Grant)

2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
c300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
11 Great Black-backed Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
Little Grebe
36 Swans
29 Pochard
79 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
277 Coots
5 Redwings
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gull
7 Great Black-backed Gull
4 Gadwall
45 Golden Plover
( John Isherwood) 

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
5 Cormorants
25 Pochard
44 Tufted Ducks
72 Coots
>2000 Black-headed Gulls
228 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
15 Herring Gulls
25 Robins
16 Blackbirds
31 Fieldfares
5 Redwings
278 Jackdaws
105 Rooks
32 Starlings
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Water Rail
2 Little Grebes
7 Great Crested Grebes
16 Pochard
54 Tufted Duck
244 Coot
262 Jackdaws
285 Rooks
1 Redpoll
24 Siskins
21 Pied Wagtails
2 Grey Wagtails
8 Redwings
15 Fieldfares
13 Reed Buntings
13 Robins
19 Blackbirds
1 Willow Tit
14 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)