14 Dec 18

Priorslee Lake only

0°C:  Clear and frosty. Light SE wind. Moderate / good visibility in haze

Sunrise: 08:14 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  06:30 – 09:30

(180th visit of the year)

In the cold and clear conditions I expected to see some hard-weather movement. Not so

Bird notes:
- the 2 Mute Swans may have the lake to themselves now but they spend much of the time apart
- a 6th duck Gadwall: try as I might I could not find its partner
- a very loose group of 17 Cormorants flew from the NW towards the lake: 13 carried on; 2 had a look and carried on; 1 landed for less than a minute and left; the other stayed at least 10 minutes
- a Sparrowhawk shot through the copse in the SW area: the Long-tailed Tits alarm-called at least 5 seconds before the bird arrived, twisting through the bushes. The tits have sharp-eyes, but then their lives depend upon it
- fewer Moorhens because the grass they use for early-morning feeding was frost-covered so they were hiding elsewhere
- 2 Lapwings to the N at 08:10
- a Woodcock flew in to the NE area at 07:15. It either did a quick circuit before settling or their were two birds
- Black-headed Gulls in very small numbers today. Once upon a time the number of gulls built up during the week and then declined due to weekend disturbance. No longer the pattern
- a small party of just 65 Jackdaws with a single and 2 Rooks in hot pursuit. First Rooks since 24 November

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 15 Cormorants
- 2 Lapwing
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 20 Wood Pigeons
- 66 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 2 Siskins
- 2 Lesser Redpoll

Birds leaving roosts around the lake
- [Magpies not counted]
- 6 Redwings
- 4 Reed Buntings

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 11 (5♂) Gadwall
- 11 (7♂) Mallard
- 12 (8♂) Pochard
- 76 (39♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Little Grebes
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 91 Coots
- 41 Black-headed Gulls only
- 1 Herring Gull again – same?

And other notes

My log of other things, all on lamp poles
- 1 stretch spiders (Tetragnatha montana?): been in exactly same spot for 3 days – dead?
- 1 spider sp. (Nursery Web Spider?)

Another good sunrise, but only very early. Hence the need to try and hand-hold half-a-second and some resultant blurring.

You can good effects by standing waist-deep in the water .... or by bending down and holding the camera close to the surface.

A contrail from an early-arriving aircraft makes an interesting cloudscape.

As far as I can see this is a Nursery Web Spider. Must have anti-freeze instead of blood.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
>550 Wood Pigeons
41 Magpies
1 Siskin
4 Gadwall 
2 Teal 
4 Pochard 
64 Tufted Ducks 
228 Coots
127 Black-headed Gulls
34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
12 Herring Gulls
12 Great Black-backed Gull
10 Fieldfare
19 Redwings 
78 Jackdaws
7 Rooks
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
1st winter female Scaup
167 Tufted Ducks
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

Horsehay Pool
A leucistic large species gull, probably Lesser Black-backed Gull
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Jim Almond)

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
9 Pochard
27 Tufted Ducks
c.155 Coots
265 Black-headed Gulls
244 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
42 Herring Gulls
3 Greater Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Curlew
Mallard x Pintail
>25 Herring Gulls
>500 Wood Pigeons
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
Little Grebe
2 Gadwall
Goosander
c.50 Siskins
1 Redpoll
4 Great Crested Grebes 
21 Swans
31 Pochard
92 Tufted Ducks
291 Coots 
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
22 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
3 Buzzards
69 Coots
>1300 Black-headed Gulls
>2600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
23 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
5 Great Black-backed Gulls
25 Robins
16 Blackbirds
c.60 Fieldfare
c.162 Redwings
32 Magpies
230 Jackdaws
96 Rooks
22 Starlings
14 Greenfinches
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson/Kevin Pryce)

2005
Priorslee Lake
3 Ruddy Ducks
Water Rail
1500 Black-headed Gulls
700 Lesser Blacked Gulls
2 Little Grebes
6 Great Crested Grebes
29 Pochard
54 Tufted Duck
234 Coot
Sparrowhawk
176 Jackdaws
179 Rooks
11 Siskins
15 Pied Wagtails
2 Grey Wagtails
3 Redwings
1 Fieldfare seen.
164 Wood Pigeon
5 Reed Buntings
10 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)