Priorslee Lake: 09:00 – 09:35
The Flash: 09:40 – 10:20
6°C: Low overcast / mist / light drizzle. Almost calm. Moderate/ poor visibility
Sunrise: 08:20 GMT
Priorslee Lake: 09:00 – 09:35
(188th visit of the year)
Just a quick look from both end to check birds on the water
The recent heavy rain has washed mud across almost the whole lake. Only the NE area, at the moment, is still relatively clean water. The Wesley Brook is flowing clear where it mixes with drains under the academy near the Teece Drive gate. It is these drains that are running brown. The soiling perhaps explains why many of the Tufted Duck have departed. What the medium-term effect will be from silting up the lake bottom is hard to predict. The Wesley Brook outflow from the sluice is also very muddy
Another possible explanation for the reduced duck numbers is the installation of automatic bird-scarers in the fields to the east. The gunfire noises were making the Coots feeding on the SW grass rather jumpy. The gunfire seemed particularly noisy today and could be clearly heard at The Flash as well. Whether this was atmospherics and / or lack of road noise; or whether the scarers have been moved closer to the lake is hard to say. I heard and saw no scarers in the Woodhouse Lane area on the 17th December
The arriving Cormorant was not interested in fishing – it went straight on to one of the boat launching platforms and hung its wings out
Bird totals
The counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans as usual
- 2 Canada Geese (arrived)
- 8 (4♂) Gadwall again
- 4 (1♂) Mallard
- 26 (18♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant (arrived)
- 2 Little Grebes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 8 Moorhens
- 75 Coots
- 65 Black-headed Gulls
My log of other things, on lamp poles
- 1 Mottled Umber moth – a rather soggy specimen in a different place to yesterday
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:40 – 10:20
(147th visit of the year)
Bird notes from here
- yet another good count of Goosanders. Even harder than usual to make the count as there was almost no-one else about to move the birds away from their preferred feeding areas and therefore more in to the open
and
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans as usual
- 2 Canada Geese
- 32 (20♂) Mallard
- 21 (8♂) Tufted Ducks
- 98 (27♂) Goosanders
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- [no Moorhens]
- 17 Coots
- 19 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........
2017Priorslee 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
1st-winter female Great Scaup
Horsehay Pool
Kittiwake
2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Gadwall
14 Pochard
29 Tufted Ducks
3 Goosanders
178 Coots
2 Redwings
4 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash
3 Pochard
44 Tufted Duck
28 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Lock Pool
30 Mute Swans
40 Tufted Duck
1 Goosander
161 Coots
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
1 Black-necked Grebe
18 Swans
4 Gadwall
41 Pochard
75 Tufted Ducks
2 Water Rails
311 Coots
600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
12 Goldfinches
10 Siskins
(Ed Wilson/Dawn Balmer/Peter Wilson)
2006
Priorslee lake
2 Great Crested Grebe
3 Cormorants
32 Pochard
24 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
64 Coots
c.100 Black-headed Gulls
23 Redwing
(Martin Adlam)
2005
Priorslee lake
10 Pochard
15 Tufted Duck
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
c.100 Lesser Black-backs
1 Water Rail
20 Pied Wagtails
365 Rooks
325 Jackdaw
1 Kingfisher
51 Siskin
7 Redpoll
13 Greenfinch 13
12 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)