14 Mar 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  10:55 – 11:45
The Flash:  10:00 – 10:50

10.0°C:  Heavy passing showers with some sun between. Fresh / strong WNW wind. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 06:27 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  10:55 – 11:45

(68th visit of the year)

No early visit in the rain and wind

Bird notes from today
- could not find yesterday’s Little Grebe
- there could have been a third Great Crested Grebe sheltering in the reeds
- not sure what the Lapwings were going to do – and, it seemed, neither were they, going around and around
- the Black-headed Gulls seemed to be feeding on a hatch of something – flies? Did not attract any passing Sand Martins to join in the feast

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over / near here
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 9 Lapwings
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 9 Jackdaws

The counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese (departed)
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Moorhens again
- 32 Coots
- 91 Black-headed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  10:00 – 10:50

(62nd visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- most of the duck Mallard seemed to be hiding
also
- a bees’ nest found in the trunk of one of the decapitated and diseased Ash trees
- a bumblebee seen only in flight but likely a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) found in flower

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

The counts from the water
- 2 + 1  Mute Swans as usual
- 15 Canada Geese
- 19 (15♂) Mallard
- 53 (32♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Moorhens only
- 33 Coots

Another episode in my quest for the perfect Long-tailed Tit picture. Here I was unable to prevent the camera focussing on the twig in the foreground so the bird is not pin-sharp.

Here the bird hides its ‘long tail’.

It should be me looking to heaven for help.

That will do (for now) even if I did cut the very tip of the tail off.

This is the hole in the Ash tree being used by the bees. They were flying in and out and not settling at all. So I attempted to see what they were by setting the camera on ‘repeat’ and holding the shutter in the hope of capturing something. Here one bee is emerging.

And here inbound and outbound bees pass each other. Not enough light to ‘freeze’ the action and give any indication as to species. We can say they are not bumblebees though.

Not an easy plant to access I’m afraid. At first sight one of those confusing dandelion / hawkweed-types. However there are several pointers to its identification as Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). Firstly there are not too many flowers around at the moment. Secondly there are no basal leaves as yet – Coltsfoot is almost unique in that the flowers appear before the leaves. Thirdly there are the rather thick-looking stems. 

(Ed Wilson)

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

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Iceland Gull
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Caspian Gull
1 Common Gull.
(Tom Lowe, J Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Chiffchaff singing
4 Siskin
1 Willow Tit
(Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
3 Lapwing
2 Green Woodpecker
4+ Skylark singing
(Martin Grant)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Pochard
34 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Kingfisher
4 Redwing
3 Chiffchaffs singing
57 Magpies
1 Brambling
10 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
3 Little Grebes
5 Great Crested Grebes 
1 Cormorant 
7 Swans 
6 Gadwall
2 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
77 Coots 
1 Common Gull 
253 Jackdaws
Linnet
9 Reed Buntings
Willow Tit
Siskin
( Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill 
1 Chiffchaff
25 Linnet
4 Lapwing
(John Isherwood)

Trench Pool 
1 Water Rail
(John Isherwood)

2007
Priorslee Lake
19 Tufted Duck
4 Stock Dove
25 Wren
28 Robin
25 Blackbird
7 Song Thrush
2 Redwing
7 Chiffchaff singing
41 Magpie
142 Jackdaw
5 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
5 Great Crested Grebes
7 Pochard
43 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
86 Coots
1 Water Rail
176 Jackdaws
26 Blackbirds
41 Redwings
20 Greenfinches
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)