25 Sep 18

Priorslee Lake with Woodhouse Lane area

Priorslee Lake: 06:15 – 09:30
Woodhouse Lane area: 07:15 – 08:00

3°C > 10°C: Clear and frosty moonlight to start. Mist over lake and fields developing. Cleared after 07:30. Calm start with light S breeze later. Very good visibility above the mist

Sunrise: 07:00 BST

Priorslee Lake: 06:15 – 09:30

(114th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the 5 Tufted Ducks flying over seem likely to have been different birds to those seen earlier on the lake, though I was not in a position to re-check the lake. The flying birds seemed to be all drakes: those on the lake were certainly not
- the lone Barn Swallow flew W
- significant passage of Meadow Pipits here and over Woodhouse Lane
- first Skylarks of Autumn overhead
- at least 18 and possibly as many as 26 Carrion Crows seen leaving a roost to the E

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 26 Canada Geese [single + 1 group inbound]
- 1 (1♂) Mallard
- 5 (5?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Common Buzzards
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Stock Doves
- 21 Wood Pigeons
- 61 Jackdaws
- 7 Rooks
- 3 Skylarks
- 3 Starlings
- 5 Pied Wagtails
- 14 Meadow Pipits
- 1 Siskin

Hirundines etc. noted
- 1 Barn Swallow

Warblers noted:
- 7 Chiffchaffs

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwalls again
- 4 (2♂) Mallards
- 5 (?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 3 Little Grebes
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 12 Moorhens
- 138 Coots
- >112 Black-headed Gulls

And other notes
- my meagre log for today, no doubt affected by the frosty start
- >5 wasp sp.
- >3 ‘greenbottle’ Lucilia sp. flies
- 1 Common Crane-fly (Tipula oleracea)
only

I was wrong yesterday: the geese do have moonlight to use when feeding in the fields. Here is the Harvest Moon about to set and a bit wobbly as it gets close to the horizon.

It was another great sunrise this morning: a little mist to start with.

Another view on what is going to be portfolio of sunrise shots.

The mist beginning to increase

And as the sun rises some more fire in the sky.

A different perspective.

With the mist obliterating the water I elected to see what the sunrise looked like from the Woodhouse Lane area. Here I am on the concrete road looking at the copse in one of the fields.

These trees are alongside Woodhouse Lane.

And here I am looking down the lane.

One of at least 3 Little Grebes present this morning: a juvenile – we can tell by the remnant stripes on the face.

A juvenile Great Crested Grebe getting to grips with a fish caught by the adult and transferred beak-to-beak. Later the adult will drop the fish in the water and let the youngster dive to retrieve it.

A different Common Buzzard to the one I photographed yesterday: this one missing a primary feather in the right wing (at least).

Notes from Woodhouse Lane area
- 3 Common Buzzards in the fields
- >70 Black-headed Gulls in the fields – these flew to the lake later
- party of 46 corvids in field: mainly Rooks but a few Carrion Crows
- 9 Meadow Pipits over
- 4 Pied Wagtails over
- 1 Siskin over
- party of 6 Yellowhammers in the hedge

On the hedge alongside the concrete road was a small party of Yellowhammers. Here are three. Not so ‘yellow’ as in the breeding season. Note the rusty rump of the bird in the middle.

Another trio – some of the same birds. The bird on the right looks rather dishevelled.

This male had dropped on to the road to feed. The white in the outer tail-feather is just visible here.

And this one is up a tree.

(Ed Wilson)