17 Dec 18

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:30 – 09:20
The Flash:  09:25 – 10:15

2°C:  Clear and frosty. Calm / light and variable breeze. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 08:17 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  06:30 – 09:20

(182nd visit of the year)

Not much seen or heard. A Woodcock in the NE area at 07:20 much the best. Atmospheric conditions caused bad traffic noise from both the M54 and Castle Farm Way. I tried to minimise it with a visit to Woodhouse Lane. There was little there

Other bird notes:
- outbound geese too distant to hear and was still too dark to ID
- one duck Gadwall missing today. Probably lurking somewhere
- so where have (almost) all the Pochard gone?
- no sign of any Little Grebes: all hiding?
- 3 Reed Buntings heard in different areas to the 12 dispersing birds seen yesterday

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 11 geese sp. [1 group outbound]
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 42 Wood Pigeons
- 93 Jackdaws again!
- 1 Rook

Birds recorded leaving roosts around the lake
- 7 Redwings
other roost area not visited

The counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans again
- 9 (5♂) Gadwall
- 12 (8♂) Mallard again
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 102 (52♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 5 Moorhens
- 81 Coots
- >240 Black-headed Gulls

My log of other things, all on lamp poles
- 1 Winter Moth: different pole to yesterday
- 1 Nursery Web Spider

(Ed Wilson)

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Notes from Woodhouse Lane area [07:45 – 08:30]

Very little here: of note
- 1 Buzzard
- 2 Pheasants calling
- 1 Linnet over

I was ‘across the road’ in the Woodhouse Lane area at dawn. Here are some sunrise shots from there.

Looking down Woodhouse Lane with mist rising from the Simpro Ltd. composting site here. If you are interested more detail of this site is here. The site has planning permission until 30 April 2020 which may suggest that there will no housing development in the are before that date.

Looking up Woodhouse Lane.

Strange early light on the winter crop showing the farm access lines.

The fiery sunrise.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:25 – 10:15

(141st visit of the year)

c.30% thin ice

Bird notes from here
- many fewer Goosanders – perhaps because the workmen were back repairing the footbridges. Several seen in flight might have been additional birds

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
None

The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans again
- 2 Canada Geese
- 35 (21♂) Mallard
- 12 (4♂) Tufted Ducks
- 33 (4♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Herons
- 2 Moorhens
- 11 Coots
- 41 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Oh yes: more Goosanders! A drake.

This duck seems to have more than enough for breakfast.

First of all she has to manoeuvre the Common Carp to swallow it head first. I think I can see the tongue being used to help.

Now pointing the right way.

Throw it up in the air and catch it on its way down!

Down the hatch.

Burp! the tail still to follow.

A pair in flight – not sure whether these were coming or going.

On another lap. Drake in the lead. These ducks are ‘long and slender’ in flight. I suspect they are confusable with Pintail in basic size and shape, though Pintail should be easy to separate by the slender tail – we see Goosander has a wide, rounded tail.

The ice here was a bit of a surprise – there was no hint of any at the lake. These Black-headed Gulls don’t seem to mind cold feet.

A subset of these gulls.

A Goldfinch atop an Alder tree with catkins in view. 

(Ed Wilson)

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

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
40 Golden Plover
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
5 Gadwall
2 Teal
4 Siskins
2 Redpolls
8 Pochard 
83 Tufted Ducks
249 Coots
83 Fieldfare
54 Redwings
216 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
Greater Scaup
1 Little Grebe 
179 Tufted Ducks 
1 Goosander 
(John Isherwood/Ed Wilson)

Holmer Lake
30 Goosander
1 Little Grebe
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Gadwall
11 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
Snipe
1 Water Rail
163 Coots
6 Redwings
227 Jackdaws
3 Redpolls
2 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Pochard
33 Tufted Duck
30 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
5 Great Crested Grebes
29 Swans
36 Pochard
97 Tufted Ducks
3 Water Rails
291 Coots
6 Redwings
c.230 Jackdaws
c.30 Goldfinches
7 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
18 Pochard
41 Tufted Ducks
35 Fieldfare
19 Redwings
216 Jackdaws
132 Rooks
11 Greenfinches
2 Redpoll
7 Reed Buntings
(Martin Adlam)

2005
Priorslee Lake
c.1500 Black-headed Gulls
c.400 Lesser Black-backs
18 Pochard
77 Tufted Duck
7 Shoveler
5 Great Crested Grebe
2 Dabchick
3 Water Rail
1 Snipe
40 Siskin
2 Redpoll
19 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)