Priorslee Lake: 05:05 – 07:40
10.0°C > 12.0°C: Medium / high cloud to E otherwise clear. Light WSW wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:19 BST
Priorslee Lake: 05:05 – 07:40
(211th visit of the year)
A shorter than usual visit will have affected some counts – inbound geese numbers especially.
Bird notes from today:
- I have noted previously that one of the cygnets wanders off from the group. It did so for an extended period and distance this morning. One of the fishermen confirmed this was a regular practice but that it did rejoin the group occasionally.
- Three duck Tufted Duck seen 07:20 but not noted earlier or later.
- I still cannot seem to get it right! The pair of Great Crested Grebes in the NE area have four juveniles (not three (or two!) as previously noted). The pair in the NW area kept their juveniles under cover. Otherwise as last Thursday.
- Three Common Buzzards in the air together over the Ricoh copse included a calling juvenile – the others presumed to be its parents. (The bird recorded as flying over was a different bird that came from the S side of the M54)
- After the initial arrival of c.50 Black-headed Gulls most of which were presumably on the ‘football’ field later (see below), there was a mass arrival of >130 more in five separate groups. These birds, unusually, arrived from the E. My first sizeable count of the season.
- At least 38 House Martins over the ‘football’ field at c.06:30. They seemed to be arriving from the E and forming in to a group overhead. Not noted later.
- 74 Pied Wagtails on the ‘football’ field at 06:35 joined by an exceptional count of 41 Starlings, 42 Black-headed Gulls, 29 Wood Pigeons and seven Magpies. The Pied Wagtails heard overhead later were almost certainly from this group.
Bird totals:
Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 131 Greylag Geese (116 outbound in 15 groups; 15 inbound in three groups)
- 85 Canada Geese (81 outbound in seven groups; four inbound)
- 1 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- 59 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 27 Wood Pigeons
- 21 Jackdaws
- 58 Rooks
- 3 Starlings
Hirundines etc. noted:
- >38 House Martins
Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 11 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (0) Blackcaps
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 9 (4♂) Mallard
- 3 (0♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 9 + >10 (>2 broods) Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 4 Moorhens (ages not determined)
- 70 Coots
- >185 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: ‘all gas and go’ singles
On the lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 Common Grass-veneer moth (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata): this from a second brood.
- 1 mayfly sp.
- 3 Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestmen
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman
The following logged later:
I left before any insects appeared:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........