15 Dec 17

Priorslee Lake and The Flash: then Trench Lock Pool

1.0°C > 3.0°C: Mainly clear after overnight showers. Light NNW wind. Good visibility. Some clear spells in the night had increased the ice if anything

Sunrise: 08:15 GMT

Icy underfoot and care needed walking around. Looking down to keep safe may have had some effect on counts of fly-over birds. However I locate many birds by sound and these would not have been so affected. Perhaps it was just ‘quiet’

Priorslee Lake: 07:00 – 09:35

(160th visit of the year)

Highlight today was my best view yet of a Woodcock as a bird flew S across the lake 07:15, silhouetted against the early light

Other notes from today:
- 5 additional adult Mute Swans when I arrived. As soon as the residents awoke they chased two of them in to the air but they circled back. Peace was declared for a while. Then after 09:15 the residents had another go. Two birds flew over me as I was leaving – whether they were from the lake and whether they left or circled again I could not say
- the 25 Canada Geese were all present when I arrived. After feeding on the grass for a while, they left in two groups
- a Goosander came from the SW and flew over leaving to the E at 08:00. Could this have been the brownhead seen leaving the water at 08:15? A pair flew E at 08:50
- 6 Cormorants arrived 08:25 and stayed but a few minutes: later another dropped in for also for few minutes only
- now three Little Grebes: these are always tricky to find so perhaps there has been three for a while
- an extra pair of Great Crested Grebes – clearly together
- a smaller than usual party of Jackdaws – 160 in the main group. I presume the snow has forced them to look for different feeding areas
- no Starlings seen leaving the roost: I suspect the snow flattened the reeds preventing them using the site
- 2 (or more) Fieldfares heard flying over – too dark to see
- did not visit either known Redwing roost: however only 2 birds seen / heard leaving was poor
- a Coal Tit heard in song: when not singing they are rather unobtrusive
- 3 Lesser Redpoll in vegetation and then on the ground at the west end was unusual. Council contractors have recently cleaned-up the overgrown edges of the path and there was obviously food on the disturbed edges with these birds joined on the ground by Blackbirds, Wrens, Robins, Dunnocks and, briefly, a Jay
and
- nothing noted on the lamps

Today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over / near the lake:
- 5 Greylag Geese (1 group outbound)
- 3 (1+♂) Goosanders (see notes)
- 1 Woodcock
- 15 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Wood Pigeons only
- 186 Jackdaws
- 2+ Fieldfare (see notes)
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 1 Siskin

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 17 Magpies
- no Starlings (see notes)
- 2 Redwings only
- 1 Reed Bunting

The counts from the lake area
- 7 + 3 Mute Swans (see notes)
- 25 Canada Geese
- 11 (6♂) Gadwall again
- 13 (7♂) Mallard
- 9 (7♂) Pochard
- 66 (36♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (0♂) Goosanders
- 7 Cormorants
- 3 Grey Herons
- 3 Little Grebes
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail heard
- 12 Moorhens
- 172 Coots
- 22 Black-headed Gulls only
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Still ice: some reeds sticking out and some remnant snow.

A half-decent sunrise (fighting Coots skittering in the foreground).

The red ‘pole’ and Hitler-moustache identify this Lesser Redpoll in the gloom.

And from the front. The sunlight belies just how poor the light was.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:40 – 10:15

(111th visit of the year)

Notes from here
- I think we must assume the last cygnet has perished
- the Great Crested Grebes seem to have departed: perhaps the two extra birds at the lake?
- at least 16 Goldfinches in trees at N end

Birds noted flying over
None

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese
- 1 white feral goose
- 40 (26♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Tufted Ducks
- 4 Moorhens
- 12 Coots
- 28 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Herring Gull

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 10:25 – 10:55

(37th visit of the year)

Still c.50% ice

A quick to check whether anything had dropped in and to look for the gull again

Notes from here
- one of the Pochard had a sex-change overnight
- many fewer brownhead Goosanders today

Birds noted flying over here [apart from the local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws coming and going]
None

The counts from the water
- 1 + 6 Mute Swans
- 10 Canada Geese
- 22 (13♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) ‘feral’ Mallard as usual
- 3 (2♂) Shoveler again
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 41 (23♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (0♂) Goldeneye still
- 11 (10♂) Goosanders
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Little Grebes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe again
- 3 Moorhens again
- [Coots not counted]
- 94 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls again

Grey Herons are early breeders – nests will be being built by the end of January. We see here the bill getting the orange tone of a breeding condition bird and the developing ‘aigrettes’ – the long feathers on the mantle and the chest.

The aigrettes blowing in the breeze (an upending Coot behind).

IF this is the same first-winter gull that I was unsure about yesterday then in flight we can see that it is a Herring Gull. A Yellow-legged Gull would not have the inner primaries so pale and the tail above the dark terminal band would be cleaner.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
48 Magpies
2 Ravens
134 Starlings
1 Siskin
6 Gadwall 
2 Teal 
6 Pochard 
115 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail 
235 Coots 
258 Black-headed Gulls
27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
24 Herring Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
32 Fieldfare
96 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Pochard 
198 Tufted Ducks 
1 Greater Scaup 
6 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe.
4 Gadwall
8 Pochard
50 Tufted Ducks
1 Goosander
1 Water Rail
168 Coots
296 Wood Pigeons
3 Redwings
1 Fieldfare
203 Jackdaws
41 Rooks
4 Siskins
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Heron
34 Swans
2 Shoveler
1 Pochard
41 Tufted Duck
1 Goldeneye
170 Coots
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
10 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
Curlew
2 Fieldfare
23 Redwings
c.25 Siskins 
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
33 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Goosander 
1 Common Gull
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black necked Grebe
30 Mute Swans
2 Gadwall
27 Pochard
93 Tufted Ducks
1 Teal
263 Coot
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
600 Black-headed Gulls
Goldcrest
11 Siskins
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Herons
25 Pochard
41 Tufted Ducks
64 Coots
>500 Black-headed Gulls
>1700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
7 Herring Gulls
35 Robins
30 Blackbirds
c.30 Fieldfare
c.24 Redwings
259 Jackdaws
232 Rooks
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)