4 Feb 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:35 – 09:25
The Flash:  09:30 – 10:15

6.0°C > 7.0°C:  Started cloudy after rain: began to lift and break after 09:00. Moderate, occasionally fresh, S wind. Good visibility, becoming very good

Sunrise: 07:48 GMT

Priorslee Lake: 06:35 – 09:25

(34th visit of the year)

c.40% ice remaining, mainly in E / SE areas, but some in NW as well

Bird notes
- the usual group of 3 Greylag and 7 Canada Geese were among the small number passing
- now back to 3 pairs of Gadwall: were they always hiding here? or has a 3rd pair arrived from The Flash?
- 2 of the drake Mallards were swimming together with one displaying to the other: oh er missus!
- significant number of Pochard and Tufted Duck gone – perhaps to The Flash due to disturbance yesterday?
- Little Grebes gone? More likely hiding somewhere
- the Black-headed Gulls tended to arrive from the W and take a look at all the ice and then fly off back W. No more than c.40 landed at any one time. At least 120 in a single wave from the W, but probably many more involved
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker seen and another heard drumming. My first drum of the year. Drumming can sometimes even be heard before the turn of the year: my earliest was on one Christmas Eve
- no Jackdaws seen on their usual dispersal routes. Perhaps the frozen ground forced them elsewhere. Just 3 went over to the W of the lake

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 4 Greylag Geese [2 groups outbound]
- 18 Canada Geese [3 groups outbound]
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 11 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws only
- 1 Greenfinch
- 2 Siskins

Birds recorded leaving roosts around the lake
- 3 Reed Buntings only

The counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 11 (7♂) Mallard
- 7 (4♂) Pochard
- 34 (16♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons
- 11 Moorhens
- 58 Coots
- >125 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Despite the milder weather nothing on the lamp poles pre-dawn: later
- 1 Muscid fly ‘sunning’ itself – probably Phaonia tuguriorum
also
- >10 Winter Midges flying about

At the front a duck Pochard. The ‘spectacles’ are a clue. The grey mark across the bill indicates this is an adult.

You can see why the appearance of a Grey Heron looming overhead causes panic amongst small birds. This is the second bird at the lake this morning.

This Great Spotted Woodpecker knew exactly which twig to perch on – no matter where I moved I could get no closer to her. Probably her mate was drumming alongside Teece Drive later. I must say the twig hardly looks strong-enough to support a woodpecker.

This hairy fly with distinctive marks in the wings seems to be Phaonia tuguriorum (no vernacular name). The NatureSpot web site notes "the early appearance of this fly helps to point to this species" with a flight period from February until late October.

(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash:  09:30 – 10:15

(29th visit of the year)

>60% ice still

 Bird species added to my 2019 log from here
47      Kestrel
48      Yellow-legged Gull

Notes from here:
- pair of Gadwall not seen!
- drake Shoveler again
- 2 drake Pochard new: together with increase in Tufted Ducks perhaps some from the lake?
- female Kestrel flew E: this is my first record here for at least 5 years (as far back as my computer logs go). As far as I recall it may indeed be my first-ever here
- a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull flew W: required the camera to confirm the ID. Another species I have not recorded here for at least 5 years – if ever

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
- 1 Kestrel
- 16 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 1 Stock Dove

The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 10 Canada Geese
- 38 (24♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 35 (13♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Great Crested Grebe again
- 4 Moorhens
- 27 Coots
- 29 Black-headed Gulls

This was a tricky one: a heavy-looking gull with a large black bill. Could it be a Great Black-backed Gull?

Here we see the upperwing pattern which left me little further forward with this first-winter gull. A Great Black-backed Gull should show a whiter head and pale inner primaries. A Lesser Black-backed Gull should show dark greater coverts, no paler tips to the inner primaries and a pale-based bill. My reference books solved the problem: this is a classic first winter Yellow-legged Gull. I don’t see too many of these gulls, especially of this age. Another bird ID confirmed by using the camera.

A Collared Dove on the wires. It was singing, a song that is often misreported as an early Cuckoo. Easy to separate if you remember a Cuckoo is always two-notes: a Collared Dove always three-notes.

A pair of Blue Tits was examining this hole with one bird disappearing inside at times.

Note the spread wings and tail – part of the effect of rising testosterone levels as Spring approaches.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........
2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

 2015
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

 2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Velvet Scoter
3 Scaup
8 Pochard
(Gary Crowder)

 2013
Priorslee Lake
8 Gadwall
26 Wigeon
2 Great Black-backed Gulls 
1 Common Gull 
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Mike Cooper)

 2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull 
1 Caspian Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Mediterranean Gull
(Roger Clay / Tom Lowe)

 2011
Priorslee Lake
10 Pochard
16 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

 2009
Priorslee Lake
6 Great Crested Grebes
<10 Pochard
c.50 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Lapwing
1 Common Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
c.35 Herring Gulls
c.400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Glaucous Gull
c.25 Siskins
(Ed Wilson, Jim and Jason)

 2008
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
211 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
23 Herring Gulls
65 Black-headed Gulls
(Martin Adlam)

 2007
Priorslee Lake
12 Pochard
26 Tufted Ducks
21 Robins
21 Blackbirds
1 Willow Tit
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

 2006
Priorslee Lake
10 Cormorants
2 Gadwall
19 Pochard
89 Tufted Ducks
183 Coots
 c.580 Black-headed Gulls
116 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
31 Herring Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull.
540 Wood Pigeon
169 Jackdaws
16 Wrens
10 Dunnocks
27 Robins
34 Blackbirds
2 Willow Tits
13 Greenfinches
40 Goldfinches
127 Siskins
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)